A pedestrian journey through Russia and Siberian Tartary, to the frontiers of China, the Frozen Sea, and Kamtchatka

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JOURNEY

THROUGH

RUSSIA AND SIBERIAN TARTARY.

I

Harding Del?

CAP? JOHX D UNI? AS COCHRANE R.N.

Edinburgh TuttisJud // ConfabL k C Waterloo flat*

,i>iJ /lurxt . t'Ji.in.-r k '■' London/.

'YIM THE YARIOI.'S DEPARTMENTS^

— OY —

LITERATURE, SCIEJN TCE, & THE ARTS .

\'0L, XXXVI,

COCHRANE' S JOURNEY THROUGH RUSSIA' VOL.1.

EDINBURGH:

i HURST, CHANCE k C? LONDON.

A

DESTRIAN JOURNEY

THROUGH

RUSSIA

AND

SIBERIAN TARTARY,

• TO

THE FRONTIERS OF CHINA,

THE FROZEN SEA, AND KAMTCHATKA.

BY

CAPT. JOHN DUNDAS COCHRANE, R. N.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

A NEW EDITION.

EDINBURGH :

PRINTED FOR CONSTABLE AND CO.
AND HURST, CHANCE, AND CO. LONDON.

1829.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The rapid sale of four large editions of
Captain Cochrane's Narrative, without ex-
hausting the demand, has induced the Pro-
prietors of " Constable's Miscellany" to give
it a place in their Collection ; and they hope
that the high price at which it has hitherto
been sold, in addition to the intense interest
of the Work itself, will render all other
apology for its insertion unnecessary.

It would have been desirable to have pre-
fixed to this edition some account of the
enterprising traveller ; and no small exer-
tion has been used to accomplish it: but,
beyond the simple fact of his having died
in South America, in August 1825, little
has been ascertained which his own pages
a2

VI ADVERTISEMENT.

do not furnish. It appears that Captain
John Dundas Cochrane was a native of
North Britain, and nearly connected with
the nohle family of that name, being grand-
son of Thomas, eighth Earl of Dundonald,
nephew of the Honourable Admiral Sir
Alexander F. J. Cochrane, and born in 1793.
At the early age of ten, he entered the Bri-
tish Navy, and subsequently, as he has
told us himself, served, partly under his
uncle's flag, for a period of nearly ten years,
" in some of the worst corners of the West
Indies." At the conclusion of the general
peace, he made some pedestrian excursions
through parts of France, Spain, and Portu-
gal; when, thoroughly convinced of the
hardihood of his constitution, seeing no
chance of professional employment, and
possessing the most uncontrollable spirit of
locomotion, he projected an exploratory
journey into the interior of Africa. Al-
, though his Memorial on this subject was
unfavourably received, his determination to
undertake some arduous enterprise seems
to have been unsubdued ; for, soon after,
having obtained leave of absence for two
years, in the spring of 1 820 he set out on

ADVERTISEMENT. Vli

that perilous journey which forms the sub-
ject of the following narrative. His subse-
quent adventures are detailed in these vo-
lumes, and they will be read with the deep^
est interest.

Upon his return to England, Captain
Cochrane again offered his services to at-
tempt a journey into the interior of Afri-
ca; but these were again refused. He now
published his Tour in Russia, which rapidly
attained to a second edition ; but having en-
gaged in some mining speculations in South
America, he left London for that country in
June 1824, on the very day that the new
edition appeared. In the meantime, his
Work attracted the notice of the Quarterly
Review, and was honoured with a critique,
on the whole of a complimentary kind, but
which contained several allusions and char-
ges of such a personal description, that they
demanded an instant refutation. Whether
these offensive passages hastened his return,
we are unable to say; but the new edition
having also met with a ready sale, certain
it is, that Captain Cochrane arrived in
London just in time to prefix to another # a

* A fourth edition followed within a few months.

Viii ADVERTISEMENT.

most spirited answer to the reviewer, which
will be read with the highest interest With-
out entering into the merits of this dispute,
we may at least be permitted to say, that
the remarks alluded to are characterised by
the greatest indelicacy, if not injustice ; and
that the allusion to Mrs Cochrane was to-
tally uncalled for. Both by her birth and
by her attainments, this lady was entitled
to respect, and, although a " Kamtchatka
girl,"* that she was not deficient in per-
sonal charms, her portrait, which accom-
panies our second volume, can testify.

It is unnecessary to follow the Reviewer
through those charges which the author
himself has combated. Captain Cochrane's
volumes may furnish few scientific details,
because the imperfect nature of his educa-
tion unfitted him for entering upon such
subjects; but a more interesting personal
narrative is nowhere to be met with. He
entered, moreover, upon an untrodden path,

* She is daughter to Captain Ricord, Chief of Kamt-
chatka, (vide vol. I. p. 320.) This amiable woman survi-
ved her husband, and returned to Russia ; and by her beauty
and accomplishments, no less than by the interest attached
to her situation, soon met with admirers. She is again
married, and resides at Cronstadt.

ADVERTISEMENT. IX

and on this account also, tliey are of the
highest importance. Siberia was absolute-
ly a terra incognita previous to his gigantic
undertaking; but he has opened the way
to new sources of knowledge, by giving
us glimpses of countries advancing rapidly
in the scale of civilisation, and rich in such
luxuries as British enterprise may turn to
advantage.

Of Captain Cochrane, we regret to say,
that little more can be added. He returned
to America by the Frolic, Leeward Island
Packet ; and shortly after his arrival, on the
12th August 1825, he died of fever at Valen-
cia in Columbia.

Editor.

EDINBURGH,

Jan. 18-J9.

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

PACK.

Dedication xv

Preface to the First Edition . . . xvii

Preface to the Second Edition . . • xxii

Preface to the Third Edition . . • xxiii

CHAPTER I.

Motives for unci ertaking the Journey — Dieppe — Rouen
— Paris — La Ferte — Chalons — St Dizier — Nancy —
Metz — Sarrebruck — Landshut — Kaisers Lautern —
Frankfort — Schlucten — Fuld — Erfurth — Leipsic —
Dueben — Potsdam — Berlin 1

CHAPTER II.

Angermunde — Stettin — Corben — Cosben — Romini

Zanow — Schlaws — Lauenburg — Neustadt — Dant-
zic — Koningsberg — Curisch Haff— Meniel — Pron-
lagen — M ittau — Riga — Dorpat — Narva — Yam-
berg — Kipene — St Petersburg 23

CHAPTER III.

St Petersburg — Tzarsko Selo — Tosna — Novgorod —
Zaitzova — Yedrova — Vishney-Volotchok — Torjock
— Tver — Davidova — Moscow — Vladimir — Drat-
chevo — Pogost— Pavlovo— -Nishney Novgorod . . 4fi

Xll CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

I'AOK.

The Volga— Makarieff—Kusmodemiansk — Tcheback-
sar — Vutchi — Kazan — Perm — Koungour — Souk-
soura, DemidofF's Zavod — Achitskaya Krepost —
Krasnoufinsk — Belimbaiefsky Zavod — Ekatherine-
bourg — Berezofsky — KamishlofF — Tumen — To-
bolsk 75

CHAPTER V.

Brief History of Western Siberia, and of its Conque-
ror Yermak — Imalak — Ingeary — Kaminski — Ka-
niisart — Ishim — Tusnabolova — Toukalinsk — Omsk
—The Kirguise — Calmucks — Jeliezinskaya — Ya-
mishersk — Poyanoyarski— Ubinsk — Uvarova —
Alexandrofsk — Bouktourma — Krasnojarsk — Maloi
Narymsk — Chinese Frontier — The Irtish — Ustka-
menegorsk'-— Isinayelova— Neighbourhood of the
Kolyvan — Kalmanka — Barnaoule — Tomsk — Kioff
— Krasnochinsky — Bagota — Atchinsk — Krasno-
jarsk— Kansko — Ingashe — Nishney Udinsk — Ir-
kutsk 107

CHAPTER VI.

Irkutsk — Vercholensk — Kirenga — Vittim — Jerbat —
The Tongousians — Olekminsk — Bistack — Yakutsk
— The Lena — Aldan — The Toukoslar — Baralass —
The Sartan_The Bouroulak— Tabalak— The Tos-
tak and Dogdoa — Kabbregah, &c. rivers — The Ra-
soka— The Biekhall and Bludenayah — The Chou-
boukalah, Galanimah,and Indigirka — Zashiversk —
Brousniekah — Sordak — The Alazea — Middle Koly-
ma— M alone — Nishney Kolymsk 158

CHAPTER VII.

Nishney Kolymsk — Ostrovnaya Fortress — Description
of the fair held there with the Tchuktchi tribe — Ob-

CONTENTS. Xlll

PAGE.

servations on that people, and on Baron Wrangel's
Expedition 215

CHAPTER VIII.

Departure from the Kolyma — Lapteff — Sredne Ko-
lymsk — Kosatchey Ostrog — Verchne Kolymsk —
The Zyzanka — Hokusolbetie and Bochiera — Bou-

, louktak — Kourouack — Terachtack, &c Kourdak

Andigezan — Intack — Omekon — Nera — Indigirka,
rivers — The Tongousi Tribe — The Koudousou and
Kounounaksala rivers — The Okota — Okotsk . . 259

CHAPTER IX.

Reasons for determining to return to Europe — Descrip-
tion of Okotsk — Observations on the navigation of
the Amour — Kurile Islands — St Peter and St Paul's
— Captains VassiliefFs and Kotzebue's Expeditions 304

TO HIS EXCELLENCY

MICHAEL SPERANKSI,

LATE

GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF SIBERIA,

&c &c. &c.

Most Excellent Sir,

In taking the liberty, without having
in the first place asked your Excellency's
permission, of dedicating this New Edition
of the following Narrative of my Journey
throughRussia and Siberian Tartary to your
Excellency, I do so, to express my grateful
remembrance of the kindness and assistance
which your Excellency afforded me in the
heart of Siberia, as well as elsewhere.

Unaccustomed to the language of adula-
tion,— and your Excellency's desires are
above it, — I claim but the continuation of
that kindness, condescension, and good opi-

XVI DEDICATION.

nion which I was honoured with : and trust-
ing to the well-known generosity of your
Excellency to pardon unintentional faults,
I subscribe myself,
With all respect,

Your Excellency's
Most obedient and

Faithfully obliged Servant,

JOHN DUNDAS COCHRANE.

PREFACE

TO THE FIRST EDITION.

It has not been the kind partiality of my friends,
the common apology for an uninteresting or ill writ-
ten book, which has induced me to launch upon
the world the following narrative of my journey to
the utmost northern and eastern limits of the Rus-
sian empire ; nor has it arisen from a vain idea of my
being qualified for a task of the kind. No person
(except the foreign nobleman under whose special
countenance the principal part of the undertaking
was accomplished) has recommended such a pro-
ceeding. The publication, therefore, whether of
merit or demerit, is entirely prompted by the no-
velty of the journey, and of the mode of accom-
plishing it ; for, even in these days of wonderful
achievements, it has excited some surprise that a
Captain of the British Navy should undertake a
journey of many thousands of miles, alone, on foot,
b2

XV111 PREFACE.

and over a country considered as next to impass-
able. That the journey has only in part been per-
formed on foot, is to be attributed to the liberality
of the Russian government, as well as to the hos-
pitality of its people. Had the Emperor Alexander,
however, refused the assistance I required, solicit-
ed, and obtained, I am free to declare that it is
next to impossible to traverse his empire on foot.
I fairly made the experiment. For a long time I
adopted that economical mode of travelling, until
the pressing solicitations of every one convinced
me it would be folly to decline any longer the ac-
ceptance of such offers as they were pleased, from
real benevolence > to make me.

I frequently walked, and as frequently rode, and
was thus enabled to go over a vast extent of coun-
try in a short time ; and such is the kind disposi-
tion of the Russian character towards a stranger,
as evinced in my case, I feel convinced that, by
studying their manners and customs, partaking of
their amusements, showing respect to their reli-
gion, and otherwise conforming to their rude no-
tions, the empire of Russia jnay be traversed by
a foreigner in every direction, with much conve-
nience, plenty of food, good lodgings, and even
suitable raiment, without molestation, and this for
so inconsiderable a sum, that to name it were to
challenge disbelief. I shall, therefore, only state,
that the expenses of my journey from Moscow to

PREFACE, XIX

Irkutsk (by the route I went, six thousand miles,)
certainly fell short of a guinea.

Such being the case, such being the novelty of
the journey, such being our ignorance of Siberia,
and every thing connected with the public institu-
tions of that distant part of the world, I consider
it my duty, as well as my interest, to submit to
the candour of an indulgent public the following
pages. Effectually to disarm the critic, I need
only say that I entered into the cockpit of a man-
of-war at the very early age of ten. If that be
not sufficient, let the fact of a journey of more
than thirty thousand miles, performed under pe-
culiar circumstances, be taken as a set-off against
a want of powers better fitting an author than a
traveller.

I cannot, however, but entertain a hope, that
the narrative will be found not void of interest. It
contains no alterations from the original notes ; it
has simply been lopped of those branches which
could not interest the English reader ; probably,
it has not even yet been sufficiently pruned, for I
fear I have still left marks of having pryed into
proceedings which may appear not to have come
within my province. When my readers, however,
consider the peculiar situation in which I was
placed for more than three years, I hope they will
give me credit for the impartiality of my opinions,
and the truth of my statements. Respecting the

XX PREFACE.

character of the Russians, I do not feel myself
competent to give what may be termed a proper
description. I might be charged with a want of
impartiality, and therefore prefer that my readers
should form their own estimate, after a due consi-
deration of the facts stated in my narrative. The
variety of conflicting testimonies has rendered the
task still more difficult ; some who have written
upon the subject have grossly exaggerated, while
others have advanced assertions totally unfounded.
Thus much, however, I will take upon myself to
say, that no people have made more rapid strides
towards civilisation, and moral and intellectual im-
provement, than all classes of the Russians ; and
farther I say, that their catalogue of failings, for
they do not merit the appellation of crimes, by no
means exceeds those of other countries.

There is another ground on which I would fain
persuade myself that these pages may be produc-
tive of some good ; — may they not prove the means
of stirring up the enterprising spirit of those who
have better means and greater talents than I pre-
tend to ? Should a traveller who has the pecu-
niary means, the requisite talents, and the spirit
and perseverance indispensable, enter upon the
vast fields of Tartary, he will find ample scope for
the exercise of his genius, whether he be a philo-
sopher, a botanist, a naturalist, or an historian. For
myself, I profess only to have acted in the capa-

PREFACE. XXI

city of a rough pioneer ; and, having cleared the
way, I leave the road open for the scientific, to
pursue his journey when it best suits him.

To the impatient mind these pages may also af-
ford a salutary lesson. Should such a character
peruse this narrative, and trace me through a long,
laborious, and highly perilous journey, contrasting
the frequent miserable situations in which I have
been placed with his comparatively happy one, he
will, I trust, learn " to be content ;" he will also
learn, that there are few difficulties which patience
and spirit may not overcome, and that man may
fearlessly go where he will, so long as his conduct
answers to his movements.

I may be allowed to add, that, after such a jour-
ney, I might be supposed cured of the spirit of
travelling, at least in so eccentric a way ; yet the
supposition is far from the fact, for as I am con-
scious that I was never so happy as in the wilds
of Tartary, so have I never been so anxious to en-
ter on a similar field as at this moment.

The Author.

PREFACE

TO THE SECOND EDITION.

In presenting to the public an enlarged and cor-
rected edition of this Work, the Author avails him-
self of such an opportunity to return to the public
who have read, and to those reviewers who have
kindly criticised it, his thanks for the patronage of
the former, and for the liberal indulgence which
has been extended to him by the latter. The few
critics who have in any way censured the peculiar
mode of travelling adopted by the Author in the
prosecution of his journey, may rest assured, that
in no other manner could he have proceeded to
the extremities of Asia ; and as he is quite satis-
fied that such observations could only have arisen
from mistake, he begs leave to return them also
his thanks for the attention which they have drawn
to his work.

June, 1824.

PREFACE

TO THE THIRD EDITION.

I should, indeed, ill deserve the attention which
the Editor of the Quarterly Review has devoted
to the Narrative of my Journey through Siberia
and Tartary, were I to feel ruffled by either of the
severe remarks which, in his judgment, it has been
necessary to visit me with ; so far from such a feel-
ing, I feel obliged to him — nor, indeed, am I dis-
appointed; I am only surprised that I have not
been more severely handled by the learned critics
in general, in spite of the original preface which
I had hoped would have disarmed them. With
respect to the Quarterly^ in particular, I can only
say, that although it has had no effect in causing
this third edition, still I feel confident it will have
the effect of rendering more rapid the sale of it ;
for whoever will read the flattering concluding pa-
ragraphs, will, I doubt not, come to the same sa-
tisfactory inference.

7

XXIV PREFACE.

Having thus made due acknowledgments, I shall
beg leave to remark upon a few of their unsup-
ported charges ; and in doing so I hope to proceed
with perfect good humour, conscious that no ill
will was intended; and if I do it in a slovenly-
manner, I still hope for fresh latitude, in consider-
ation of this third edition being ready for binding
— a circumstance I could not have known in time,
arriving, as I have done, only this day from South
America ; coupled also with the singular fact, that
the second edition was published the very day that
I left London.

The first charge brought against me consists in
the assertion, that the work is in general without
dates, and that, therefore, what I have told has not
always been correctly told. Now, I am no logi-
cian, but this does not appear to me a candid or
justifiable mode of criticizing a work, because it
is a direct tax upon veracity alone. Surely a fact
may be stated, without specifying the time when
it took place ; — nor is the Editor borne out in his
assertion, or insinuation, by his supposed subse-
quent proof, that I have asserted what I could not
have known. In order, however, to account for
the omission of dates, I must tell the public, that
if a blunder was committed, it has not been by
me, but by no less a literary gentleman than Mr
Barrow ; his opinion and advice, with such a no-
vice as I am, in a literary view, ought to have

6

PREFACE. XXV

been followed ; his knowledge of the most agree-
able forms of bringing a work before the public is
so well known, that I am certain the same public,
as well as the Quarterly, will excuse the blunder,
and leave veracity as it stood.

The circumstances which led to the general

omission of dates were rather curious ; and as Mr

Barrow may have forgot the conversation which

passed between us at the Admiralty, I shall relate

it, and I do so, because I have not time to acquaint

that gentleman with my intention of publishing it,

— this explanation will, I hope, plead my apology

with Mr Barrow : — Upon my return to England,

from Russia, and when about to commence the

narrative of my journey, I was desired to submit

it to Mr Barrow, previous to publication — I did so,

with a perfect knowledge that it would benefit

much. When he came to that part of it which

states my departure from St Petersburg on the

24th May, I remarked that the moon was near her

full; Mr BaiTow, with his accustomed ingenuity

and foresight, referred to the almanack, by which

it appeared that there was no moon at all on the

24th May ; accordingly, at our next meeting, he,

wishing to prevent my falling into so gross an error,

kindly said, " that I intended keeping company

with Bruce, the African traveller, who showed

the Abyssinians an eclipse which was not visible

in Africa, although it was so elsewhere." Con-

c

XXVI PREFACfc.

scious that I had not written what was not true,
he referred to my assertion of the near full moon
on the 24th, and compared it with the almanack ;
I referred to my passport, it is dated the 24th, and
I knew the moon to be full on that day, for it was
old style, — the riddle was thus explained ; for new
style being the 12th May, the moon was near her
full. While in Russia, I adapted myself, as nearly
as possible, to every circumstance connected with
that empire ; among others, to that of following
their O. S. I, however, agreed with Mr Barrow
that it would be better to leave dates out, as such
might cause a confusion ; and where only a per-
sonal narrative was intended, could not consider it
of much consequence. This tedious explanation,
I hope, will be pardoned, in consequence of the
hasty inference drawn from it by the Quarterly.

With respect to the next charge, a supposed
more serious one. I think differently. I was not
employed by the Admiralty to undertake a journey
through Siberia or Tartary ; as such I cannot have
acted derogatory to my rank or character. The
Admiralty, while I was on half-pay, had nothing
to do with the one or the other. I got no L.5000
advance to fit me out with telescopes, thermome-
ters, barometers, or the like appendages of a sci-
entific expedition. I had no such object in view.
It was enough for me that I had their Lordships'
leave to travel, upon certain conditions — those

PREFACE. XXV11

conditions I complied with ; and it matters not
how I travelled, how I dressed, how I fared, or
how I got on. I did certainly intend a pedestrian
trip ; that I found impossible in many cases, from
a variety of causes, none so strong as the hospi-
tality of the Russians, icho will not allow you to
travel on foot if they have a horse to lend ; nay,
what will the Editor of the Quarterly say, when
I assert, and appeal to the Governor-General Spe-
ranski for the truth of my assertion, that officers of
the highest cast, when travelling in Siberian Tar-
tary, scarcely ever pay for provisions ? — the natives
will not take the money, and if they did, I doubt
what they could or would charge, when the ex-
traordinary low price of provisions is taken into
consideration. I have often seen the owners of
horses fighting for the honour of driving a superior
officer, gratis ; also have I seen them tackle on
three and four extra horses, that such an officer
should go with more than state, that is, with great
inconvenience ; and, were it not for the beauty and
breadth of the roads, I might say toith danger. To
sum up with the hospitality of the Russians, espe-
cially those of Siberia, I will only add, that no-
thing is so easy as to gain admittance into their
mansions or dwellings, nor any thing so diffi cult
as to leave them.

The charge brought against me, of stating the
degrees of cold in the valley of Sartan, without the

XXV11I PREFACE.

aid of a thermometer, is also without foundation.
It is, however, true, that I lost the few instruments
I had taken from St Petersburg soon after I left
that capital ; but such a fact was no reason why I
could not, or did not, procure others. Does the
Editor of the Quarterly suppose, that Russia is
so backward in the possession of astronomical in-
struments ? If so, it is a mistake ; and I could say,
that their officers are possessed of more scientific
instruments than ours in general are. The truth is,
I procured a thermometer at Moscow, a second at
Yakutsk, and a third at the Kolyma. When I have
marked so low as 42° of Reaumur, I beg to in-
form the Reviewer that he must not suppose that,
in Siberia, there are not hundreds of spirit ther-
mometers, and, such being the case, I marked what
number of degrees it showed by Reaumur, and not
by Fahrenheit, which I then considered was a ther-
mometer more befitting a warm climate.

When I stated having seen the thermometer so
low as 42° of Reaumur, and brought in the testi-
monies of Admiral Saretcheff and Captain Billings
to bear out my assertion, I did it, not from a doubt
of its truth, but from a desire that the unfounded
assertion of this same Quarterly Reviewer, some
years ago, should not be tolerated, — that Captain
Parry had wintered on the coldest spot of the globe.
I do not believe a thing of the kind. I cannot doubt
but that many of the most eastern parts of Nor-

L'ftliFACE. XXIX

them Siberia are infinitely colder than Melville
Island. My assertion of 42° of cold would have
been discredited, when the Quarterly knew my
entire want of scientific knowledge, and the super-
abundant quantity possessed by him and Captain
Parry, who found no more than 57° of Fahrenheit.

I thank the Editor of the Quarterly for his very
ingenious and logical query, (vide p. 224,) where
he says, " We are not surprised that these poor
people (the inhabitants of the Kolyma) should be
subject to many diseases, more especially the scur-
vy ; but we are somewhat staggered with the Cap-
tain's assertion, that it is cured * by the consump-
tion of raw fish, during the winter ;* but, if cured
in the winter, how happens it that < in summer, the
disease never fails to abate with the arrival of fresh
fish ?' If it be cured in the winter, and abates in
the summer, when does it exist in force ?" I re-
ply, in winter the scurvy rages, and that it is cured
in winter by the consumption of raw fish ; also I
agree that it abates with the arrival of fresh fish.
To get out of this apparent logical difficulty, to
the Quarterly would be a hard task ; not so to me,
who am now taking advantage of the shrewd and
active mind so graciously granted me by the Quar-
terly.

The scurvy rages during winter with the poorer
and consequently with the greater, proportion of
tlio inhabitants of the Kolyma, because they, the

XXX PREFACE.

poorer sort, cannot afford to eat raw fish, it being
an article of luxury. It is true, that a most pro-
digious quantity of fish is caught on the banks of
the Kolyma, but it does not follow that such a
quantity is eaten raw ; indeed it is only a very
small proportion that can be so consumed, and that
quantity is naturally bought up and retained by the
more wealthy part of the community.

Herrings are the principal productions of the
Kolyma, and are retained for the dogs. Red sal-
mon constitute the next quantity, and are univer-
sally used by all classes, by being boiled, or dried
up into youkola. The nailma, and, I think the
osioter, being white fish, are the only species that
are eaten in a raw state ; while mocksou and mock-
son are expressly converted into youkola, one for
man and the other for dogs. There is also ano-
ther reason why the poorer classes cannot partake
of raw fish ; it is not only dear and scarce, but it
is a most extravagant mode of eating fish, for a
person can consume three times the quantity in a
raw state, that he can either boiled or in the way
of youkola. I hope this statement will be under-
stood by my readers.

With respect to the memoir which I addressed
to the Royal Society,* and which may be deemed

* This Memoir, and the Map which illustrates it, will be
found in the second volume— Ed. of C. M.

PREFACE. XXXI

unintelligible without at all offending me, I have
nothing to say. Had there been any real and sub-
stantial reason for refusing the memoir, I feel cer-
tain the all-knowing Editor would freely have given
it. Be this as it may, I do still maintain that I had
a rio-ht to expect common civility and common
courtesy from Sir H. Davy and his colleagues in
council ; and I still assert that their conduct has
betrayed a want of fair dealing, unpardonable in
any one, but more especially censurable in a learn-
ed, an enlightened, and a public body.

In page 226 the learned Editor seems to forget
his own want of propriety. He has before much
harped upon the derogatory manner in which I
travelled, &c. so improper for a person of my rank ;
and yet, in speaking of my wife, he terms her a
Kamtchatka girl. As far as age could warrant the
term, he maybe correct; but I should have expect-
ed his very refined notions of propriety might have
induced him to have extended the trouble he took
in writing about her, to have called her a young
lady. There, however, seems to have been a lurk-
ing desire to have added more than had a reference
to my narrative ; — the causes are known to me as
well as to the Editor.

With respect to that hankering after reasons
why I did not go over to America, and the desire
the Editor has to induce me to charge the Russian
government with preventing it, because there was

XXX11 PREFACE.

already a Russian Expedition there, — I unequivo-
cally declare there was nothing of the kind. I ne-
ver was stopped by them from going where I chose ;
they did me the honour to grant me a carte blancfie,
which I did not abuse. With regard to the asser-
tion, that I have referred to the reasons before
given, and, as the Editor says, nowhere stated, he
might have imagined what was correct, viz. that I
referred to the reasons given for not going with
Baron Wrangel, in a letter dated from the Kolyma,
and which were such as any honourable officer
would have given, conscious of his own capacity,
and jealous of his own honour.

The Editor is very fertile in finding out doubts
of my veracity, and yet he finds fault with my ha-
ving previously advanced testimonies of it, as it
ought not to be doubted ; but, he lastly tells me,
that the cause of my saying that there are no fe-
males in Maimatchin, arises from merely the fact,
that the Chinese told me so. Pray how would
this Oriental reviewer have had me to inquire and
satisfy myself except as I did ? I have no doubt
of the truth of what I have stated, for the houses
are not so contrived, as I have explained in the
narrative, as to admit of a space and secret room ;
and, as I have also stated, the Chinese at Mai-
matchin, and the Russians at Kiakhta, live upon
more friendly terms than can be expected else-

PREFACE. XXX111

where, and not more closely averse with respect
to showing their ladies, as asserted by the reviewer.
I could certainly give other reasons in corrobora-
tion of my assertion, did propriety permit me ; nor
do I think the refined delicacy of the Editor such
as to have induced his noticing a circumstance of
the kind, for, in various parts of the same number,
he seems peculiarly susceptible of his tender organs.

Touching the extraordinary stories I have re-
ported of the gluttony of the Yakuti, &c. I am not
only obliged to the Quarterly for putting me in
the company of Captain Bobadil, but also in com-
pany of two of his " declared bright examples for
the youths of ages to come," viz. Captains Parry
and Lyon. Methinks the Editor feels rather sore
upon this subject, else I feel confident, neither the
asserted gluttony nor my abstemiousness would
have been taken notice of. It is, however, not un-
amusing to read the comparative and significant
remarks attending his bright and scientific exam-
ples, and those thrown at me ; but, I will tell the
Editor, I would rather eat raw fish (and I regret
that I cannot send him some for trial) than be
starved in the midst of plenty, in the one instance ;
or, in the other, be compelled to roast old shoes,
stew down old clothes, nay, to eat a parcel of my
own dead companions.

I again thank the Quarterly for his complimen-

XXXIV PREFACE.

tary concluding paragraphs, for which I now pre-
sent him a third edition, and, spite of fate, hope to
send him a fourth in a short time.

J. D. COCHRANE.

JOURNEY

RUSSIA AND SIBERIAN TARTARY.

CHAPTER I.

Motives for undertaking the Journey — Dieppe — Rouen —

Paris La Ferte — Chalons — St Dizier — Nancy — Metz —

Sarrebruck — Landshut — Kaisers Lautern — Frankfort —
Schlucten — Fuld — Erfurth — Leipsic — Dueben — Pots-
dam— Berlin.

In the month of January, 1820, I addressed a
letter to the Secretary of the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty, offering to undertake a journey
into the interior of Africa, which should have for
its object the ascertaining of the course and deter-
mination of the river Niger. Besides the bent of
my own inclination, I had an inducement to this
step in the conviction, established by experience, of
my capability to encounter the ordinary difficulties
of a pedestrian traveller ; having, on the conclusion
of a general peace, traversed on foot the beautiful
vol. r. a

2 MOTIVES FOR

countries of France, Spain, and Portugal — an ex-
cursion in which I certainly underwent a full pro-
portion of fatigue and privations ; to say nothing
of those I had for years before been in the habit of
undergoing ; among which I might enumerate two
trips from Quebec to Lake Ontario, when in com-
pany with six hundred seamen, whose wry faces
and swollen feet told me I was more of a pedes-
trian traveller than they.

The plan I proposed to follow was nearly that
adopted by Mungo Park in his first journey ; in-
tending to proceed alone, and requiring only to be
furnished with the countenance of some constitu-
ent part of the government. With this protection,
and such recommendations as it might procure me,
I would have accompanied the caravans in some
servile capacity, nor hesitated even to sell myself
as a slave, if that miserable alternative were neces-
sary, to accomplish the object I had in view.

In going alone, I relied upon my own individual
exertions and knowledge of man, unfettered by the
frailties and misconduct of others. I was then, as
now, convinced that many people travelling toge-
ther for the purpose of exploring a barbarous coun-
try, have the less chance of succeeding ; more espe-
cially when they go armed, and take with them
presents of value. The appearance of numbers
must naturally excite the natives to resistance, from
motives of jealousy or fear ; and the danger would
be greatly increased by the hope of plunder. The
death of the whole party, and consequently the
failure of the expedition, will be the probable re-
sult of such a plan. The difficulty of finding men,
otherwise suitable, whose constitutions admit an
equal degree of suffering and fatigue, is also great ;
and that of collecting a number of people gifted

UNDERTAKING THE JOURNEY. 3

with the due portion of those virtues without which
no expedition of discovery could succeed, is cer-
tainly a greater.

My answer from the Admiralty was unfavour-
able, expressing an unwillingness to countenance
the undertaking; whether from tender regard to the
safety of my person, or because they considered
such an expedition foreign to their department, or
from what other reason, I shall leave the reader to
conjecture. I was not, however, the less con-
vinced of the practicability of my plan ; a plan
which I consider was more than ordinarily feasible
by me, who had been roasted in some of the worst
corners of the West Indies, during a period of
nearly ten years' service, without, I may say, a
headach. Finding, however, that a young com-
mander like myself was not likely to be employed
afloat, much less ashore, I determined to undertake
a journey, varying only the object and the scene,
similar to that of the unfortunate Ledyard, viz. to
travel round the globe, as nearly as can be done
by land, crossing from Northern Asia to America,
at Behring's Straits. I also determined to per-
form the journey on foot, for the best of all possi-
ble reasons, that my finances allowed of no other.
Having procured two years' leave of absence, I
prepared to traverse the continents of Europe,
Asia, and America.

It is only candid to premise, that the account I
am about to give of my travels, can but little gra-
tify the scientific reader. I confess my ignorance
of natural history, nor, had I been ever so skilful,
could I, travelling on foot, have brought away with
me any specimens of animals, plants, or minerals.
I had no means of carrying with me such instru-
ments as are necessary for making geographical ob-

4 DIEPPE.

servations of places, of the state of the air, or such
other matters as are generally expected to he noted
by travellers ; the few instruments I did possess
were taken from me, as will hereafter appear.

My first and leading object was to trace the
shores of the Polar Sea along America by land, as
Captain Parry is now attempting to do by sea ;
and, at the same time, to note my observations on
men and manners in the various situations and con-
ditions of life ; for which such a journey could not
fail of presenting many opportunities. Having
therefore procured such documents as were neces-
sary, and filled my knapsack with such articles as
I considered requisite, to enable me to wander
through the wilds, deserts, and forests of three
quarters of the globe, I quitted London, and land-
ed at Dieppe from the packet-boat.

My regret at quitting the shores of Albion was
not likely to be counterbalanced by any pleasurable
reflections on reaching those of France ; but having
been forty hours on board the packet with little or
nothing to eat, I cheerfully submitted to the ordeal
of the French searchers, at the modest price of a
franc ; and, with my knapsack on my back, walk-
ed on to one of those most accommodating of all
places of entertainment, announced by the simple
words of " logement a pied ou a cheval." I there
procured a bed and supper for the same reasonable
price that I had paid for the honour done me in the
official examination of my precious wallet.

Being reluctant to incur the expense of five
francs, to obtain my passport on Sunday, I was
content to devote the day to celebrate the eve of
my birth-day, of the Carnival, and of St Valentine ;
having visited what may be deemed most wrorthy
in the pretty, clean, and well-paved town of

ROUEN. ,5

Dieppe — the retreat for the vicious, and refuge for
the unfortunate.

Monday, 14th February, I commenced my route
towards Paris, over a well-cultivated but thinly
peopled country, on which are a few pleasant
countiy seats and neat villages, with a road far su-
perior to that from the capital to Calais. I con-
templated, as I jogged along, some of the differ-
ences between France and Spain, comparing the fa-
cilities of traversing the former, to the difficulties
and dangers attending the latter ; and contrasting
the servile, frivolous, and seductive Frenchman,
with the noble, proud, and hospitable Don. Nor
is the scenery of the two countries less opposed ;
the bold, romantic, fertile, and mountainous fea-
tures of Spain, to the long, low, sloping declivi-
ties, and the tame, though cultivated, eminences of
France.

About a mile, however, from Rouen, the pro-
spect became more interesting. To the right and
in front wound the silvery Seine, its bosom stud-
ded with vessels to a degree extraordinary at this
season of the year. In the distance, in front and
to the left, stood the city of Rouen, with the spire
of its truly venerable cathedral, and other steeples
and public buildings, rising over various parts of
the city ; farther to the left, a range of hills, in a
high state of cultivation, sloped down to a number
of handsome chateaux and pretty cottages ; while
the lawns, covered with c ttons and linens spread
out to bleach, gave an air of cheerful and honour-
able industry to this portion of the department of
Lower Seine.

I put up at a table-d'hote, and, for thr e francs
a-day, procured the opportunity of viewing the
wonders of the ancient, but dirty, narrow, and
a2

6 ROUEN.

erooked-streeted city of Rouen. The cathedral is,
of course, the first ohject of attraction ; but, how-
ever beautiful its Gothic design, or however ex-
cellent its modern improvements, the effect of both
is lost from the peculiar unfriendliness of its situa-
tion ; surrounded, on three sides, by dirty lanes, so
close that the backs of some of the houses are form-
ed by the walls of the cathedral. The interior
corresponds with the exterior in point of decora-
tion ; though of its furniture little else is to be seen
besides enormous piles of old chairs. I left this
once so beautiful, but now disfigured edifice, to
wander through the aisles of St Owen, a fine and
perfect Gothic specimen, whose grandly elevated
roof, and highly finished painted windows, seem
capable of inspiring a religious feeling far beyond
those of the cathedral. The archiepiscopal palace,
the barracks on the banks of the Seine, a large Go-
thic building converted to public offices, and the
Hotel de Ville, are also deserving attention. Rouen
lias a tolerable library, and a cabinet of paintings,
including numerous pieces of the old school ; their
description is too much out of my sphere to be en-
tered upon ; and, were it otherwise, the indelicacy
of some of them might well forbid their reception
by an English public.

Ascending Mount St Catherine, I now over-
looked the river and great part of the surrounding
country, which, even at this season of the year,
presented an interesting scene, where the boule-
vards, by far the cleanest part, stretch along three
sides of the city to a great distance, with the ca-
thedral and other churches ; the beautiful windings
of the river, now bounded by high and chalky cliffs,
and then by low meadow-lands, with its numer-
ous inhabited and well- cultivated islands, remind-

ROUEN. 7

ing me of the " Chinampas," or floating gardens of
Mexico.

Mount St Catherine had some time back a
strong fortress ; though now scarcely the vestige
of a wall remains. Possibly it was destroyed on
purpose, as palpably unnecessary to the protection
of the sacred territory. The communication across
the river is formed by a heavy bridge of boats,
fastened together in the most unskilful manner, the
beams of wood admitting of little or no play, so
necessary during the breaking up of the ice, or the
freshes and swellings of the river. The great nation
might obtain some useful information on floating
bridges from Oporto to Seville.

I returned to the city, in time to witness what
little public feeling was exhibited on the informa-
tion just received of the Duke de Bern's assassina-
tion ; and having gallantly paid my devoirs to the
statue of the Maid of Orleans, departed, convinced
that Rouen, like other great cities, presents too
much to be seen, and too little to interest.

The first part of the journey from Rouen to
Paris is on the banks of the Seine, then under
Mount St Catherine, and afterwards over a con-
siderably elevated ground. Cultivation is here pur-
sued on an extensive scale, but the scene is unin-
teresting from its sameness and the total absence
of inclosures, recalling to the English traveller the
superior beauties of his own country. Passing a
few dirty villages, you reach Bordeaux de Vigne a
Magni, a considerable town, distant twenty-eight
miles. From hence to Paris is a well-paved road,
through the ancient town of Entreuil ; the country
here becomes more interesting and better peopled,
though it has little else to denote its proximity to

8 LA FERTE.

the second capital of Europe. I arrived late, and
put up at the Hotel de Conte.

I remained at Paris several days waiting for my
passports, for which no less than seven signatures
and as many francs were required. I was happy
enough to find a worthy friend in the person of the
late Colonel Mercer, who, with his amiable daugh-
ters, did every thing possible to lessen the expense
and ennui of the delay. All public amusements
were, however, prohibited for a certain period, in
consequence of the Duke de Bern's death, much,
I suspect, to the mortification of the Parisians, who,
whatever be their love to the grand monarque, ap-
pear but little attached to his august family.

Paris has ever appeared to me dull, probably
from my want of means to enter its vortex of dis-
sipation ; but as I was not wholly insensible to
the wish, I resolved immediately to quit it, lea-
ving to others the task of describing over again what
has so often been described. I set out, therefore,
on the 20th, with the intention of crossing the
Rhine at Frankfort, taking Nancy on the road.
Twenty-two miles on my route lay the episcopal
city of Meaux, whose cathedral is certainly deser-
ving of notice, inasmuch as its exterior is complete-
ly finished, a rare case with French cathedrals. The
country about it is low, and as uninteresting as the
city itself. Passed the night at La Ferte sous
Jouarre, a considerable town on the Marne, cele-
brated for its trade in mill- stones, which are thence
exported in great numbers. I was too fatigued to
enjoy more of the comforts of a decent auberge
than that of a bed, such as it was, consisting only
of a blanket, with my knapsack for a pillow. Reach-
ed Port-a-Binson, late the next evening, having
gone through several considerable towns, among

CHALONS. 9

which is Chateau Thierry, beautifully situated on
both banks of the Marne, connected by two bridges,
which are again connected by an island in the cen-
tre of the river. The country here assumes a more
romantic appearance, and the people seem happier
and more good natured, with less of that forward
and impertinent curiosity so characteristic of French
manners. At a distance of twenty-four miles, I
reached Chalons, in Champaigne. It was not pro-
bable I should pass this province without tapping
a bottle of so celebrated a wine, with which the
town of Epernay furnished me for three francs
and a half.

Epernay, with its scenery, is truly romantic, as
observed from an elevated situation above Chateau
Thierry. It reminded me much of the scenery in
the North of Portugal, near the river and bridge of
Coa.

Leaving Chalons, I directed my steps towards
St Dizier, over a hilly country. The road was
bad, but rendered lighter by the company of some
pedestrian travellers. Our route, however, was
through a flourishing vineyard and a highly pictu-
resque scenery, abounding with wood and water ;
but dirty and populous villages everywhere of-
fended the eye, presenting a strange and paradoxi-
cal appearance, as if health and dirt were as con-
genial in France as health and cleanliness are in
England.

I reached St Dizier late in the evening, exceed-
ingly fatigued ; put up at a decent public-house,
where were plenty of other travellers enjoying the
comforts of a Saturday night, when an extra franc
is spent. The latter circumstance I mention, that
gentlemen travellers (I know not to what classi-
fication of the tribe Laurence Sterne would have re-

10 ST DIZIEIl.

ferred me) may observe, that we of humbler habits
and pretensions have our red as well as black let-
ter days. St Dizier is an ancient town, near the
navigable part of the Marne, built in the year 951,
and is the chief town in the department of the
Meuse, lying in a fertile country. Grapes are here
abundant, and many beautiful views may be glimps-
ed through thick groves and vineyards, common
to this part of the country. Breakfasted at Bar-
sur-Ornain, generally called Bar-le-Duc. The next
place in point of rank, in the same department, is
Ligny, with a collegiate church, and a palace be-
longing to the Counts of the same name. Passed
through Void and St Aubin, the former, apparent-
ly, a pleasant lively place, containing three thou-
sand inhabitants ; thence, through Toul, an ancient
bishopric of Lorraine. The country was hilly and
fertile, producing abundance of good and tolerably
cheap wine.

The following day I spent at Nancy, enjoying
the beauties of this Bath of France, and capital of
Lorraine. It is still a fine city, although dispos-
sessed of its former privileges and honours. The
buildings in general are noble ; the Hotel de Ville
superb ; the Council House, in the new square,
very fine ; and the regularity and cleanliness of the
streets deserving of praise. The promenades are
kept in good order, and every thing denotes that
Nancy is a well-conducted and highly civilized city.
I took the benefit of a warm bath in excellent style
for one franc, and next morning departed, taking
the road to Metz, and enjoyed one of those de-
lightful walks which seldom fall to the lot even of
a traveller, much less to those slaves of ease who
get up but to go to rest, and live but to die. The
road stretched along the beautiful banks of the

NANCY. 1 1

Meuse, winding through numerous valleys, betwixt
a succession of hills, whose summits assumed the
form which sailors would term " table lands." I
crossed the river by a well-built modern bridge,
just at the point where the Meuse falls into the
Moselle. The fertility and industry of this part
of France are alike apparent ; each side of the river
was a continuity of vineyard or orchard, the river
winding round the forest-topped hills, branching
out at intervals into several streams, and then uni-
ting in a sort of rapid. The numerous towns and
villages, everywhere interspersed, exhibited their
influence on the scene, pouring out to their health-
ful occupations a thick population of robust and
cheerful labourers.

On the last day's march I fell in with one of
Napoleon's soldiers, who had had the misfortune of
being for two years and a half immured in a Rus-
sian prison, if the wilds of Siberian Tartary possess
any building which can merit such an appellation.
He protested <l by his faith and respect for Napo-
leon ;" and if I may judge from what I heard, I
must suppose the expression spoke the sentiments
of a large portion of the Bourbon subjects. His
veracity was indeed questionable, declaring that he
had been seven days without food, at Witepsk;
and that out of five hundred and thirty Frenchmen
confined in the same prison with himself, but
twenty-three remained alive to tell the dreadful
tale. It took them, he said, eight months' travel-
ling to reach their destination at Tobolsk.

He was, however, a lively and even a service-
able companion ; for, upon complaining of my feet
becoming blistered, he communicated to me as a
secret, a mode of cure which I have never found to
fail. It is simply to rub the feet, at going to bed,

12 METZ.

with spirits mixed with tallow dropped from a
lighted candle into the palm of the hand. On the
following morning no blisters will exist; the spirit
seems to possess the healing power, the tallow
serving only to keep the skin soft and pliant. The
soles of the feet, the ankles, and insteps, should be
rubbed well ; and even where no blisters exist,
the application may be usefully made as a preven-
tive. Salt and water is a good substitute ; and,
while on this head, I would recommend foot-tra*
vellers never to wear right and left shoes ; it is
bad economy, and indeed serves to cramp the feet ;
and such I felt to be the case as I arrived at Port-
a-Marsan, a pretty town, with a good inn and a
better market. Thence, over a variously cultivated
country, I reached the outworks of Metz, situated
at the confluence of the Moselle and Seille, two
rivers which are nearly carried round the city by
the aid of canals, &c.

Metz is a place of great importance and strength,
and has frequently endured the horrors of a siege.
It is the see of a bishop, whose cathedral, like that
of Rouen, is secluded among the habitations of
barbers, tailors, and cobblers ; like Rouen, too, it is
but a dirty place. The dwellings of the Israelites
are restricted to a particular part of the city ; I saw
a few of them, with their long beards and black
cloaks — a distinctive dress which they are compel-
led to appear in.

Next morning, with the sound of the bugle, and
at the opening of the gates, I resumed my march,
having previously sent my knapsack by the dili-
gence to Frankfort. The day proved fine, which
enabled me to reach Sarrebruck, five miles within
the barrier of Germany. The scenery was wild
and interesting. Many cultivated spots smiled

SARREBRUCK. 13

through the immense dark forests ; and even on the
frontier line, the romantic view, combined with the
thought of entering a strange country, unknowing
and unknown, and ignorant of its language, had
nearly overpowered me, until the sight of a neat little
public-house brought me back again to John Bull
and his happy home. And although that part of
the world may not bear a comparison with Eng-
land, still the picture had many points of resem-
blance. The country was highly cultivated, and
inhabited in the manner of straggling farms ; and
the country inn, with its tap, and red-faced landlord,
cheering fire, plenty of good beer, tobacco, a smoky
room, with boisterous guests, all in high dispute on
politics, and keeping up Saturday night, were no
bad emblems of England, and, as such, truly ac-
ceptable to a cold, dispirited English traveller.

After a walk of forty miles, I supped with some
itinerant Jews, upon a genuine German repast, viz.
milk soup, fricasseed veal, pancakes, roast joint,
with a sausage, called in London brawn. We had
also our dessert, consisting of apples, pears, nuts,
and good wine ; and with such fare and such com-
pany, I was bound to feel happy. Previous to re-
tiring, I could not help remarking the difference in
the education of a German and a Frenchman. The
frontiers are the very best places to observe it ; ad-
dress a German, however poor or vulgar his con-
dition, upon any subject, and his answer will prove
that he has been at least partially educated. Ac-
cost a Frenchman in like manner, and you will have
for answer, " Monsieur, cela je ne puis pas vous
dire," with a shrug of the shoulders, which none
but a Frenchman can render equally expressive or
ridiculous. Nor does the comparison stop here.
The manners of the people, their diet, the econo-

VOL. I. B

14 LANDSHUT.

my and cleanliness of their houses, nay, the mo-
desty of their females — in a word, every thing that
renders life agreeable, remind me forcibly that I
am not going to bed in France.

I slept well, and, after paying twenty francs for
the indorsement of my passport, having neglected
to bring the Prussian claw from Paris, I resumed
my journey. Three leagues over an uncultivated
country, I passed the remains of an old castle and
mutilated tower, and entered upon a finer prospect,
with the pretty little town of Homburg in the fore-
ground, at the foot of a mountainous precipice.

At Homburg I enjoyed my pipe and supper in
company with my German landlord, whose extra-
ordinary deference to my opinion was calculated to
make me grow in favour with myself. My next
destination was to Kaisers Lautern, over eight
leagues of dreary and uninteresting country. Snow
fell in considerable quantities, and every thing as-
sumed the most dismal appearance, except that the
cottages and smoke, peeping through the woods,
denoted that something like man was not distant.
At Landshut I attended the Protestant church, in
spite of the very noisy and bad singing, and the re-
mains of Romish indulgences, as keeping open
shops, playing at cards, &c. Resumed my journey
over an unpleasant wet road. The country appear-
ing more cultivated, although barren of population,
induced me to ask who tilled the lands ; I could
only, however, conclude that a class of people, call-
ed Labradores in Spain, come here to earn, like the
Irish in our own country, a little money to enable
them to go back to their homes.

Kaisers Lautern is a considerable town, with
seven thousand inhabitants. It is well built, and
so clean as to present somewhat of the appearance

KAISERS LAUTERN. 15

of an English market or borough town. Its situa-
tion is agreeable, surrounded by high and cultivated
lands. It is said to belong to the King of Bavaria
at present ; at least the public-house at which I put
up for the night belonged to his Majesty. May-
ence, I believe, belongs to the Duke of Hesse
Cassel. Frankfort is a free city, and Prussia is
within a stone's throw, so that, in fact, it was dif-
ficult to know under whose colours I was wander-
ing. So much for the acts of the great Vienna
Congress, which have placed seven flags within the
compass of two leagues.

Bidding adieu, however, to Kaisers Lautern and
politics, I passed the fertile and picturesque plain
on which it stands, and, ascending a long and steep
hill, entered on a close country, covered with thick
and impenetrable forests ; dined at Kirchin Boland,
and reached Alzey late in the evening. The inha-
bitants were not remarkable for civility ; for the
landlord of the inn I first stopped at, actually turn-
ed me out, because I was no more than a foot-tra-
veller. I judged it better to pocket the affront ;
and, having purchased a small loaf of bread, I push-
ed on, fatigued, cold, and mortified, till I reached
a cottage, whose adjoining barn furnished my
night's shelter, and I reposed with perfect content
upon clean hay. Next morning I quitted my hum-
ble dwelling, and, accompanied by innumerable
carts, carriages, and Jews, proceeded towards
Frankfort. I arrived at Mayence, stopping at the
Imperial hotel, near the cathedral, and obtained my
first view of that city, which holds so high a rank
in Germany. The privileges formerly appertain-
ing to it and its archbishop, are gone on the same
errand as many others, in consequence of the recent
arrangements of the Congress of Sovereigns.

16 FRANKFORT.

The Rhine here assumes a magnificent appear-
ance, about the same width as the Thames at
Westminster, and is crossed by a bridge formed
of fifty-two boats, six hundred and thirty paces in
length. Passing through a small fortified place op-
posite to the city, I pursued the road to Frankfort ;
and, after walking over an elevated and romantic
country, (whose general scenery reminded me of
the Sierras of Placentia, viewed from the high road
between Badajos and Madrid, heightened as the
comparison is by the striking similarity of the pro-
ductions,) I was at length gratified with entering
the free and independent city of Frankfort.

The approach is very pleasing, amidst orchards,
gardens, and vineyards ; and one of those small but
beautiful towns, belonging to the opulent mer-
chants, is contiguous to the city. The houses are
all on an extensive scale ; the architecture is good,
and the material generally free-stone. Another
range of stately edifices, now converted into manu-
factories, and buildings of every imaginable size and
decoration, from the stately mansion to the com-
fortable residence, down even to the neat cottage
and the miserable cabin, all are here seen promis-
cuously thrown together, and liberty seems to wave
her triumphant banner over them.

I put up at the Wine Bush, a stately hotel, of
which a Mr Mohr was landlord, and whose bro-
ther had kept a tavern in England for twenty-eight
years ; which, in consequence of some information
lodged against him at the Alien Office, he had been
compelled to quit, with an English wife and six
children, to seek an asylum in his brother's hotel,

Frankfort, as a city, is too well known, and its"
fair too celebrated, to need description here. It
was formerly a fortified place, but the walls have

SCHLUCTEN— FULD. 17

been entirely demolished, and indeed their ruins
are the best protection it can have. A young Li-
vonian baron, whom I met at the ordinary, gave
me letters of recommendation to the frontiers of
Siberia, and I departed.

The month of March brought with it much snow,
and made my walk to Hanau a dreary one. Next
day, passing over a low, flat, and uninteresting
country, I reached Schlucten. The road was in a
dreadful state, and my feet equally so. I took
temporary refuge in a small inn, whence I was soon
driven by the rudeness of a sot. This fellow had
even the audacity to follow me to another ; but
here his character was well known, and the oppor-
tune appearance of his wife, and her very free and
dexterous use of a good cudgel, together with the
remonstrances of the landlord, for a time rid me of
his impertinence. Finding, however, a strong back-
er in his faithful dog, who would not permit any
interference between man and wife, he again seat-
ed himself, and I set out once more in quest of a
night's quarters.

Fuld, a beautiful little city, with a handsome ca-
thedral, some colleges, two squares, many fine pub-
lic and private buildings, and well-regulated pro-
menades, was, after Nancy, the pleasantest place I
had seen on my journey. I arrived very late, and
much fatigued, having been induced to go so far
by my companions, a wandering tailor, a regenera-
tor of kettles, and an Italian cage-maker. Our
community of fare enabled me to reduce my ex-
penses one half, a measure not wholly unnecessary
from the state of my purse. A miserable barn
was our only shelter, which, it may be supposed,
I quitted as soon as possible for Berka, ascending
a steep hill, knee- deep in snow. The task was
b2

18 ERFURTH — LEIPSIC.

difficult, nor did I arrive till noon. The view from
the top of the hills which overhang Berka, was ex-
tensive but desolate ; hill, dale, and valley covered
with snow, and nothing but the steeples of churches
and the smoking chimneys to relieve the scene, till,
late in the evening, I reached Saxe Gotha. It ap-
peared a handsome city, with many fine edifices.

Erfurth, where I arrived at noon next day, lies
in a deep valley, and is well fortified. The coun-
try round it is tolerably cultivated, and better peo-
pled. It is remarkable as the place where the al-
lied sovereigns met upon a raft to adjust measures
for their relative aggrandizements. Here I saw,
for the first time, bad black bread ; and here, also,
a Right that richly compensated the other, viz. the
first ray of the sun since I had left Paris. At
Weimar I first met with sledges. Hence, in diso-
bedience to the injunctions of the police at Erfurth,
to wait upon the Russian minister plenipotentiary,
I set forward to Naumburg. The road was as
wretched as the scenery delightful ; lying through
fertile valleys, studded with villages in all the va-
rieties of picturesque situation ; the dark lofty oaks,
shadowing the pure surface of the snow, contrast-
ing with the beauty of the close green fir. I could
gain no reception into any house at Naumburg, but
that of a poor shoemaker, which I did at the price
of a glass of schnaps ; for a second glass he mend-
ed my shoes and gaiters, and provided me with a
truss of straw, on which I slept soundly.

Next day, accompanied by a Jew, I reached
Leipsic, passing through Lutzen. The misery and
barrenness of the scene fairly vie with the celebrity
of its name. Four trees were pointed out to me
as the spot at which the Ex-Emperor commenced
his flight. Lutzen formerly belonged to Saxony,

DUEBEN. 19

but is now attached to Prussia ; a sad change for
the poor inhabitants, who complain bitterly of the
exactions enforced by their new master. Nothing
in the scene of Lutzen denotes the proximity of so
celebrated a capital and court as Leipsic ; which)
in my judgment, will bear no comparison with
Frankfort, except in size. I walked round this city
the following day; but as I have nothing good to say
of it, I will at least abstain from depreciating it*

Travelling over a low country, and by a bad road,
I reached the large, dirty, and scattered town of
Dueben, the first in Prussia Proper, and standing
on the banks of the Salle. My reception was un-
civil, if not inhuman. My passport demanded, my-
self interrogated by a set of whiskered ruffians,
obliged to move from one guard to another, the ob-
ject of sarcasm and official tyranny, I wanted no
inducement, fatigued as I was, to proceed on my
journey ; but even this was not permitted me. A
large public room, full of military rubbish, and two
long benches, serving as chairs to an equally long
table, were the place and furniture allotted me. I
asked the landlord for supper ; he laughed at me ;
and, to my demand of a bed, grinningly pointed to
the floor, and refused me even a portion of the
straw which had been brought in for the soldiers.
Of all the demons that have ever existed or been
imagined in human shape, I thought the landlord
of the inn the blackest. The figure of Gil Perez
occurred to me, but it sunk in the comparison with
the wretch then before me, for ill-nature and per-
sonal hideousness. His face half covered with a
black beard and large bristly whiskers ; his stature
below the common ; his head sunk between the
shoulders, to make room for the protuberance of his
back ; his eyes buried in the ragged locks of his

20 POTSDAM.

lank grisly hair ; — add to this a club-foot, and a
voice which, on every attempt of speech, was like
the shrieking of a screech-owl, and you have some
faint idea of this mockery of a man. For some
time he strutted about, wrapped up with furs,
which ill concealed the ragged testimonials of his
wretched poverty, and taking immense quantities
of snuff. The oaf at length deliberately opened a
large box, and placing in it a pillow and some
straw, wrapped a blanket round him, and commit-
ted his person to this rude but novel species of bed,
shutting the lid halfway down with a piece of wood
apparently kept for that purpose. I confess my
indignation was so strongly excited, that, had ma-
terials been at hand, I had the strongest inclination
to nail the monster down in his den. My feelings
resolved into a determination to run all risks for
an escape ; and accordingly, getting out at the win-
dow in the middle of the night, I took the road to
Wittenberg, where I arrived at eight o'clock in the
morning, after travelling over fifteen miles of sandy
common, having previously crossed the Elbe by a
large wooden bridge. The river is formidable, and
the city fortified. Every step of the latter part of
this journey stamps on my mind the recollection of
the mild character of the Saxon, compared with
that of the ruffian Prussian. From Wittenberg to
Treuenbrizen is a good road, but a few villages and
a forest of firs constitute all that is visible, except
a large dirty market-town, which, however, pro-
vided me with clean straw, and, consequently, with
a good bed.

Being now arrived in the land of turnpikes,
where good roads and post-houses never fail, I
started for Potsdam, distant thirty miles, and ar-
rived in the early part of the evening. A flat

BERLIN. 21

Country, sterile and almost deserted, save by the
sandy pine, presents little to denote the approach
to this royal retreat With infinite difficulty I ob-<
tained admittance to a house, content to purchase
black bread for my supper, and the use of a bench
for my bed. Of Potsdam I can only say, that the
appearance is handsome, the royal edifices exten-
sive, and many private ones magnificent ; but so
great an air of melancholy pervades the place, that
it seems a fitter residence for the dead than the li-
ving ; — I had the less regret at bidding it adieu.

A fine avenue of trees and a good road con-
ducted me to Berlin ; nor could the fertile imagi-
nation of a Humboldt discover aught else to denote
the approach to the capital of his own country.
For myself, I perambulated the streets nearly the
whole of the night in search of a lodging, and was
at last compelled to sleep on a bench in the Pro-
menade. Next morning I waited upon his Ex-
cellency Mr Rose, the British Minister, whom I
found fully aware of the character of Berlin and
its inhabitants. He was so good as to send one
of his coachmen with me, and through so powerful
an interference, I did at length get a comfortable
unfurnished room in the capital of Prussia. It
should, however, be observed, that the minister
had offered me a room in his hotel, which my own
independent plan, joined to a fear of incommoding
his excellency, induced me to decline.

During my stay in Berlin, I had the honour of
an invitation to a grand dinner given to the mi-
nister of Prussia and the foreign ambassadors, at
which princes, counts, and dignitaries, down even
to the pedestrian traveller, were present. The
dinner and wines were considered the best and
choicest ; but I would have preferred a plain joint

22 BERLIN.

and vegetables, to all their unmeaning nothings of
made dishes, puffed cakes, &c. His excellency
asked me why I did not eat ; I replied, I had seen
nothing to partake of, at least nothing to satisfy a
hungry traveller. His excellency pardoned my
honest boldness, and sent down a cold roast turkey
and ham. Of these I had no difficulty in making
a good dinner, and felt sensibly his excellency's
kind consideration. His excellency the Russian
ambassador had the goodness to present me with
blank passports for whatever route I might pre-
fer ; an attention on his part, becoming the repre-
sentative of his illustrious master. The young
prince Labanoff .was also of the party, whom I
gratefully particularize as the kind facilitator of my
journey to St Petersburg.

Berlin is seated on the Spree, which runs through
various angles of the city. Many parts of it are
handsomely built, especially what may be termed
the court end ; but every building, from the palace
to the meanest hut, is built of brick, plastered
over. In short, Berlin is all show — a forced place,
having little commerce, and less content ; no smi-
ling faces — no mediocrity, that happiest of all con-
ditions. Berlin contains nothing but the most
hardened military despots, and is, in short, a mere
court, though it contains two hundred thousand
inhabitants. I saw no modes of gaining a liveli-
hood, or even of passing time honestly. Billiards,
cards, and dice, succeed to the spectacle of the pa-
rade, and the streets present nothing but sentinels
on guard.

Though a pedestrian, I was the first bearer of
the information of the Duke de Berri's death, a full
month's post being due at Berlin, owing to the im-
mense quantity of snow.

[ S3 ]

CHAPTER II.

Angermunde — Stettin — Corben — Cosben — Romini — Za-
now — Schlaws— Lauenburg — Neustadt — Dantzic — Ko-
nigsberg — Curisch HafF — Memel — Prolangen — 31 ittau
— Riga — Dorpat — Narva — Yamberg — Kipene — St Pe-
tersburg.

The road from Berlin to Stettin is over a bleak
and uncultivated country, where neither wood nor
water, and but few people, are to be met with. The
first night I put up at an old town called Bernau,
which threatens every day to fall on the heads of
its inhabitants. Next day I reached Angermunde,
having previously passed through Neustadt, where
I had the comfort of dining upon pork, pease-pud-
ding, and good beer. On the road are many small
villages, inhabited by wood-cutters, which afford-
ed strong proof of the high state of perfection to
which the training of dogs may be brought, each
of these animals drawing a considerable load of
billet-wood.

In Angermunde, which is a considerable town,
with a large inn, I found no improvement in the
Prussian character. I had stopped in the forenoon
for refreshment at a little public-house, where a
carriage had previously halted ; and, entering the
tap, demanded some beer, bread, and cheese. The
owner of the carriage was partaking of the same
fare — good white bread and a bottle of ale. While
7

24 STETTIN.

I was enjoying, in hope, my companionship in
these delicacies, the landlord set down before me
certainly the worst bread and dirtiest beer I had
ever seen. On my requesting to be placed on the
same footing, he simply replied that those already
before me were far too good, and that if 1 did not
eat them I might go without ; and, suiting the
word to the sentiment, he immediately carried
them away. Nor could any thing induce the brute
either to return these or sell me better, until my
considerate fellow-traveller called, as for himself,
for a fresh loaf and a bottle of ale, and, presenting
them to me, expressed his regret that I should
have been so insulted in the necessitous condition
in which I appeared. I accepted his kind offer,
and then discovered that he was not a Prussian but
a Pole.

I departed with the intention of reaching Stettin
that night. The road was lined with horse-patrol,
ostensibly to prevent smuggling ; but, in reality,
to examine travellers and their papers. At five
in the evening I came in sight of the ocean, and,
in the midst of much fatigue, felt refreshed by the
reflection that I was Hearing a seaport. I passed
the drawbridge at half past eight, just in time to
prevent being locked out — a circumstance of near
concernment to me, after forty miles of heavy and
dreary walking.

Stettin played me the same trick as Berlin. I
in vain demanded a night's lodging at three differ-
ent houses, though I had previously ordered and
eaten of as many suppers for that express induce-
ment. I then retreated to the wharf, cold and
snowy as it was, when chance threw me in the
way of a brother tar ; with generous humanity he
roused me from the ground, on which I was lying,
(}

STETTIN. 25

nor did be leave me until, at past midnight, he had
succeeded in inducing the landlord of the Copen-
hagen Inn to receive me, on condition that my
passport should he deposited in his hands as a
security. A hed was provided me, and I soon
drowned in sleep the memory of the country I was
in, and the cares and fatigues I had undergone in
reaching it.

Next morning I arose refreshed, and, in com-
pany of an honest Swede, waited upon his Excel-
lency Mr Lutzen, the British consul, to whom I
presented a recommendatory note from Mr Rose,
who had given that very Mr L. his situation. The
reception I met with was barely decent at the time,
and, on the following day, an invitation was trans-
mitted to " the English gentleman," to dine at his
country seat. I confess I could not but regret
that no Englishman should be found better quali-
fied to do justice to my countrymen.

Stettin, on the left hank of the Oder, is a strong
and commanding position. Many opulent and re-
spectable merchants reside in it, who carry on an
advantageous trade during the early part of the
summer. No vessel of considerable burden can
reach the city ; they are loaded thirty miles to the
northward, at a place called Swinnerman, between
which and Stettin is a large lake, at this season an
entire sheet of ice. The town is said to contain
twenty-two thousand inhabitants. It is the resi-
dence, or rather the lunatic asylum, of the dow-
ager Princess, mother of the late Duchess of York.
Her Highness is well treated, having also the use
of a country residence.

Having refused Mr Lutzen's hospitality, I took
the road to Dantzic, over pasture land, and reach-
ed Golnow, a large scattered town with a good

vol. i. c

26 CORBEX — C0SBEN.

inn and civil landlord. A fair had been held for
the last three days, and much bustle still prevailed ;
after a comfortable refreshment I set forward, and
reached Newgard and Pinnow the following day,
amid snow, wind, and rain. Corben and Cosben,
two miserable places, in a swampy situation, next
brought me up, having several times missed my
road, and sometimes with but little hope of re-
-covering it. One of these instances occurred in
an attempt to cross a frozen lake. Fortunately
the water was not so deep as to prevent my reach-
ing the opposite shore. I then determined to steer
one course till I made a land fall, which I was
-enabled to do by keeping right before the wind.
It was now three o'clock, when a person whom I
met informed me I had come but sixteen miles in-
stead of thirty ; — took a fresh departure, with good
advice, and at last did well. Thus much for quit-
ting the high road to make a short cut, which a
pedestrian should never do, except under a cer-
tainty of being right.

A post-house called Romini, with a good civil
landlord, better wife, and seven well-behaved child-
ren, made me welcome, dried my clothes, and gave
me a glass of schnaps to keep me warm, while a
good supper of beef and potatoes was preparing
for me. Cold, wet, weary, and half-famished, I
.had entered the benevolent post-house ; but one
short hour restored me to life and good humour,
and ultimately to the enjoyment of a clean bed,
made on the spot for my accommodation, by fill-
ing a tick with hay, and sewing it up again.
Happy, contented, though impoverished family,
would to Heaven that benevolence like yours had
more numerous followers among mankind ! The
whole property of this family could not have been

ZANOW. 21

worth ten pounds. I had arrived in a most mi-
serable plight, the heavy and frequent rains having
dilapidated my apparel, which, even in good wea-
ther, was not calculated to last long. My cap I
had lost in the icy swamp, and, in default, my head
was bound up with a piece of red flannel. My
trowsers were literally torn to tatters ; my shoes
tied to my feet, to prevent their falling off; my
shirt, except a flannel one, and waistcoat, both su-
perseded by my outer jacket. All I had retained
was sound health and a contented mind, and I
wanted no more ; for this generous family had,
during the night, put my entire wardrobe to rights ;
and I departed the following morning with sound
clothing, and reflections of heartfelt gratitude to
have met with the beneficial exercise of such qua-
lities, in a quarter of the world where I had so
little reason to expect them.

Over an execrable road, sandy heath, and in
cheerless wintry weather, I resumed my route, and
reached Zanow, on the banks of the little river
Coslin. Here again I found a lodging in a cobbler's
stall — it could scarcely be termed a room, being
about nine feet square. An old bedstead and straw
mattress served for him and his grandson in one
corner ; in the second was a fire place, but no fire;
in the third, a cupboard with an empty glass and
two or three broken plates ; and, in the fourth, a
board for his journeymen to work upon when he
has business to employ them, which now served
for my bed-place. In this state I passed the night,
charmed with the contentment of old Crispin, whose
whole happiness seemed wrapped up in the future
welfare of his grandson. I was provided with some
straw and a horse rug, which, however they might
assimilate me to the inhabitants of a stable, were

28 SCLAWS — SKOLPE.

truly acceptable ; for the night was cold, and the
windows, which transmitted the light only through
oiled paper, could not prevent the sensible intru-
sion of the cold air.

Next morning, in spite of the obstacle of a sprain-
ed ankle, I pushed en towards Schlaws, where I
was taken before the magistrates, to answer the of-
fence of smoking in the streets. My ignorance of
the law, and my very palpable poverty, alone saved
me from a fine. In the evening I reached Skolpe,
over thirty-five miles of bad road. The police sup-
plied me with quarters at the guard-house ; a cir-
cumstance rendered almost necessary to me, from
the unaccountable, but manifest ill-will of the wo-
men towards me. The ill-fated Ledyard, had he
been situated as I have often been, would have al-
lowed exceptions to his beautiful encomium upon
the benevolence of the fair sex. But Ledyard's
fortune in this respect was better, and he was jus-
tified, by his own experience, in espousing the
cause of the whole sex.

At the guard-house I entertained the people with
the history of my travels, past, present, and to
come, and so greatly were they interested by the
recital, that they actually strove to lay me under a
promise of not going beyond St Petersburg. They
urged upon me their own habits and feelings so
strongly indicative of contentment, and even pro-
posed to me to take a farm among them ; but, from
many reasons, I felt little disposed to adopt the
suggestion.

Lauenburg next day became my halting-place,
after twenty-seven miles' march ; the country be-
coming better cultivated and more peopled than
of late. I endured much from the bad condition
of my shoes, which the variations of weather made

DANTZ1C. 29

alternately like sponge and horn. I repaired the
mischief as well as possible with spirits and tallow,
the only resource I had, for my finances were not
in a condition to allow me a new pair. I reached
Neustadt (eighteen miles,) almost sinking under
pain and fatigue. From hence the country assumes
a very picturesque appearance ; it bears, however,
a desperately bad name, from the bands of robbers
that infest it. For myself, I was so far from ap-
prehension on this point, that I laid my account
with having my necessities mitigated by their
means. The people, however, were civil and ob-
liging.

I now started for Dantzic, distant about thirty-
three miles ; at about the tenth I was overtaken
by the post-coach, and bargained for a conveyance
for three francs. This wretched vehicle, which
does not merit the name even of a waggon, pro-
fesses to accommodate nine passengers. It has
three benches — the two back ones looking toward
the front, the centre bench without a back ; be-
yond the hindermost seat is the depository of the
baggage, amounting to about one-third of the
whole machine. It goes upon four wheels, each
moving on a strong axle-tree* and is without any
sort of spring whatever. The tout ensemble is pro-
bably more like a show-cart than any thing else.

Of its mortal contents, two were well-dressed
young men, connected with the commerce of Dant-
zic ; a young nobleman about to join his regiment,
to perform his regulated quota of a year's service ;
two dashing females, setting their caps at the two
merchants — (these were bound to Dantzic or
Konigsberg, to open the season as the ice breaks
up and si lips arrive, then to return to Berlin, un-
der the auspices of Madame B.); a sergeant of the
c 2

30 DANTZIC.

royal guard, having the charge of a priest, either
banished or under arrest, for what offence I could
not learn ; they both appeared decent, well-behaved
men. The eighth was a young Saxon Jew, from
Leipsic, bound to Riga and St Petersburg. His
person was rendered remarkable by his long white
soft flaxen hair, and white eyelashes and eyebrows.
He seemed about twenty, not deficient in common
sense, although the company were much inclined
to make him their butt. In this vehicle and this
society I reached Dantzic, to my no small satis-
faction ; for surely no pretence of a conveyance
ever yet put forth by man, can be compared with
a Prussian post-coach. Just fifteen hours were
consumed in going thirty-two miles.

The following morning I paid my respects to
Mr Gibson, the British consul, who received me
with liis well-known cordiality and friendship. I
dined with him ; the intervening time being em-
ployed in walking about the city as much as the
afflicted state of my feet would allow.

Dantzic is so well-known a place that I shall not
enter on any description of it here. It was former-
ly a free city. Its immense fortifications, which
require an army of thirty thousand men to defend
them, and the numerous sieges it has undergone,
have given it a high and deserved reputation. Its
present population is forty-five thousand, all now
in allegiance to the King of Prussia.

Though several inducements were held out to
me to remain here, I stayed only long enough to
view a painting in the Exchange, which is deser-
ving of notice, and another, with a fine piece of
sculpture, in the Cathedral. In the first, a boat is
represented in the act of crossing the river Styx ;
and several persons, at that time residents of Dant-

DANTZIC. 31

zic, are pourtrayed as the passengers, the burgo-
master and his daughter being particularly conspi-
cuous. The story, however, says, that the natu-
ral anger of the parties thus libelled was appeased
by the painter's consenting to add his own portrait
to those already in the boat. The picture was then
hung up in the Exchange ; but the crafty artist
contriving to gain admittance during the night, add-
ed to the figures that of an angel with a boat-hook
stopping the boat, presumably in consequence of
the painter's being in it. The burgomaster could
not disguise his vexation, though the offence was
thus neutralized ; but the picture was suffered to
remain.

The other painting, for which the Emperor Alex-
ander is said to have offered twenty-five thousand
guineas (query, roubles?) is a representation of the
Last Day. It is said to be one of the most an-
cient, as well as finest specimens extant, and is the
property of the city, who cannot alienate it. The
sculpture, by Michael Angelo, of the Crucifixion,
is said to have been done from the observations of
real suffering, the artist having crucified and stab-
bed a boy expressly for that purpose.

With a strong pair of English shoes, the present
of my friend, Mr Marshal, I departed, passing the
range of fortified hills on the right, and the port of
Dantzic with its shipping on the left. I now en-
tered a well-cultivated country, passed the neat lit-
tle town of Dnishaw, crossing the Vistula by a well-
managed ferry. Thence to Marienberg, so cele-
brated for its castle, which I had no opportunity of
seeing, as it was at that time undergoing repair.
The following day I reached Elbing, over twenty
miles, of low, cultivated country. It appeared a
pretty town, having a good export trade by ves-

32 KONIGSBERO CUIUSCH HAFF.

eels, which, though at fifty miles' distance, from the
sea, come up even to the city walls. The third
day I reached Konigsberg (thirty-five miles), ex-
tremely tired. Although a walled, it is not a forti*
fied city; but contains sixty thousand inhabitants,
and is certainly the second city in Prussia. The
trade is considerable, though checked by the shal-
lowness of the navigation, which obliges vessels of
burden to load and unload their cargoes at Pillau.
The privileges granted it by the present sovereign
have, however, in some considerable degree, light-
ened the inconvenience.

My journey to Mem el was over a cultivated
country, until I got to the Curisch Haff, which I
reached with some difficulty, having several times
lost my way, and generally by misdirections. Af-
ter a direct progress of only ten miles, an old wo-
man (now, Led yard, thou art right !) took pity
upon me, and I passed the night comfortably un-
der her roof. A good hot supper, with a drop of my
landlady's cordial, so exhilarated me as to induce
me to join a group of dancers, who were thus
commemorating Good Friday, as well as celebra-
ting a marriage, which had taken place that day
between a young fisherman and the " maid of the
inn." I had the honour of waltzing with the bride,
a fine buxom girl of nineteen.

I hesitated a little, next morning, upon the ad-
vice of an old sailor, to stop at the village till the
Haff broke up, when I might get a passage to
Memel by water, free. The old tar had offered to
find me in provisions for the consideration of my
assistance, in the meantime, in hauling the net.
Perhaps, under circumstances, I might have ac-
ceded, if I could have relied on the security ; but
fearing this, I resolved to attempt the crossing of

CURISCH HAl'F. 33

the Haft' towards Krantz. I was, however, at the
risk of my life, compelled to return, and only late
at night reached a large fishing-village, called
Jackaw. From thence, next day, along a sandy
beach, with a sun which, even in this season and
climate, enabled me to light my pipe by my spec-
tacles, I got to a neat post-house at Nidden, situated
in the midst of sand-hills.

A young recruit bound to Memel had been my
companion the previous day. In the evening a few
fishermen also going to Memel, offered us a pas-
sage in their boat ; my companion consented on the
instant, and, late and cold as it was, we embarked.
The wind was fair, and we had but thirty-five miles
to go. The crew consisted of two men and a wo-
man, all three of whom laboured at the oar until
midnight, when, having passed the village of Swat-
sash, the boat encountered the ice, at a narrow part
of the Haft', and, in the severity of the frost and
the extreme darkness, we became completely block-
ed up. In this exigency, to give more room, the
young recruit and I were obliged to quit. He, poor
fellow ! had been enjoying a sound sleep, wrapped
up in great-coats ; to him, therefore, this reverse
seemed severer than to me. For myself, I felt
aware of the impropriety of resuming the journey
at that hour, hungry and fatigued as we were. But
what was to be done ? Return I would not, al-
though a village was within two miles of us ; yet
to proceed was impossible, from our ignorance of
the way, and the darkness of the night. We were
also quite destitute of bread, tobacco, or schnaps,
and my knapsack was in charge of the young-
Saxon, who had agreed to take it to Memel for
mo. I felt as if completely undone. Putting, how-
ever, a good face upon it, I took off my shoes, hat,

34 MEM EL.

and jacket ; and taking a spare flannel waistcoat
and drawers, which I had fortunately retained in
a bundle, with a dry pair of worsted stockings,
with this I made myself a bed, putting my feet
into my hat, and pointing them towards the wind,
and my shoes under my head for a pillow ; then
lying down and drawing my jacket over my shoul-
ders, I slept very soundly ; although, upon awaking
next morning, I was both wet and stiff, yet after
taking some strong exercise backwards and for-
wards, I recovered the use of my limbs and my
health.

The recruit had not slept at all, but lay bemoan-
ing his hard fate, which, indeed, was sufficiently
severe ; his tight pantaloons, military boots, and
tighter coat, exposing him much more than myself
to the inclemency of the weather. As he was too
obstinate to take my advice, or follow my example,
all I could do was to pity him, and rouse him to
take some violent exercise. This in some degree
recovered him, and we moved on towards Memel,
crossing the isthmus, and following the northern
path. By seven in the morning we reached a ta-
vern on the summit of a hill, which overlooks the
city, and here I was obliged to leave him, in a state
of fever. Upon my gaining the beach, it appeared
doubtful whether the ferry-boat could attempt the
passage or not, there being a heavy gale, and the
ice driving with great velocity ; I, however, perse-
vered, and was safely landed in Memel, in time to
partake of a good dinner at the Sun Inn.

Memel is a highly respectable, convenient, com-
mercial town. The harbour is small and secure.
A good theatre, large church, public hospital, and
a palace, are its principal buildings. Its trade
would be much more considerable, were it not for

POLANGEN. 35

the monopolies and privileges granted to its rival
Konigsberg. Its exports and imports (the same
commodities as in other Prussian towns) are most-
ly in the hands of Polish Jews, the merchants ha-
ving little cordiality with each other. The contra-
band trade with Russia was formerly considerable,
but heavy losses and heavier punishments seem to
have subdued this spirit of speculation. I received
great marks of kindness from its inhabitants, who
even expostulated with me on my seemingly un-
happy mode of life. If happiness, however, be the
one pursuit in this world, it may admit of question
whether a traveller does not attain a greater por-
tion of it than most others ; certainly more than
those who languish on the lap of ease, and who, in
one shape or other, feel the tortures of anxiety,
though surrounded by all the luxuries which af-
fluence can procure.

The Saxon having arrived with my knapsack, I
departed, in company with a real friend, in the per-
son of Mr Robson, who kindly gave me a seat in
his carriage, as far as our road lay together. At
thirteen versts we reached the frontier, at a small
Russian town called Polangen. A police office,
guard- house, and custom-house are established here.
Our passports were backed for a silver rouble, and
the same sum saved our baggage from a rude and
useless search. The manifest advantage to the
traveller in the regulations on the frontier, no less
than the presence of Cossacks, served to remind me
that I had entered the Russian empire.

The road to Liebau is generally through a sandy
forest of pines, the trees of which were torn up by
the roots, or bent double, by the effects of late
gales, rendering the road difficult to pass. From
Liebau we continued our route with post-horses,

36 MITTAU — RIGA.

harnessed in a teelega, a vehicle peculiar to Rus-
sia, and which certainly may remain so, being con-
structed on a model from which no other nation
would desire to copy. It is sufficiently easy of
description, being, in short, just the shape of a ba-
ker's trough, with open railings for the sides. It
is long enough to lounge or even lie down in, and
filled, as it is generally, with hay, is really no very
unpleasant vehicle : the absence of springs being
in some measure counterbalanced by the breadth
of the axletrees and the smallness of the wheels ;
which, while it lessens the chance of overturning,
renders the danger, in such an event, less immi-
nent. Our route to Mittau was performed agree-
ably, and my friend did the honours as became one
in his situation in life. The scenery was not de-
void of interest, the country being well cultivated
and tolerably wooded, though stragglingly inhabit-
ed.

Mittau, the ancient capital of Courland, has not
much appearance of a city, though it seems to have
been well built. The royal, or rather imperial, pa-
laces, are extensive ranges of building converted
to one use, all still in an unfinished state. We
were detained some time by the ice in the river Aa,
and nothing but an extra rouble could have passed
us across. We had then to walk three miles to
reach the post-house ; here my friend, whose
weight did not admit of his moving with the same
velocity or ease as myself, was knocked up, and
we halted for the night, receiving every civility and
attention.

The banks of the Dwina and the city of Riga
hove in sight the next day, and we reached the lat-
ter at noon. The history and description of this
ancient city are well known. The emperor ap-

RIGA. 87

pears much attached to it, and has honoured the
British consul, a gentleman and merchant, esteem-
ed and respected by all classes, with particular
marks of his consideration ; having even conde-
scended to accept apartments in his beautiful man-
sion. During the late invasion by Napoleon, the
suburbs were burnt by order of the governor, on
what authority I know not ; but he preferred sui-
cide to the survival of his honour, or the result of
a court-martial. New edifices are now erecting on
the site of the old suburbs, which bid fair to be-
come the most beautiful part of the city. A
magnificent view of the city, with the surround-
ing country highly cultivated, is commanded from
the top of the Livonian steeple, three hundred
feet high. Quitting Riga, still in company with
Mr Robson, I continued in the same easy car-
riage, and over the same execrable sandy road,
to Wool mar ; the country thinly peopled and
less cultivated. Here, to my extreme regret, and
with a deep impression of his kindness, my friend
and I parted, our routes lying at right angles. I
was now, for the first time, alone in Russia, and my
reflections on the circumstance were rather of a
melancholy cast. At Stackeln I overtook the St
Petersburg waggon, but its pace was too slow to
induce my joining company ; otherwise I would
gladly have availed myself of it both for guidance
and protection. I therefore pushed on, and soon
reached the considerable village of Gulben ; and
next day, at Udin, I first trode Russian snow, pro-
ving that I had travelled faster than the seasons,
as, though winter had passed me in the middle, I
found it still lingering in the northern boundary of
Europe.

The inhabitants hitherto appeared civil, and less
vol. i. d 2

38 DORPAT — NARVA.

phlegmatic than the Germans ; although an excep-
tion to this character had the knavery to make off
with a pipe, a pound of tobacco, and the pair of
shoes which I had received from Mr Marshall.
Such things once lost, there is but little hope of
their recovery ; I therefore made no complaint.
Reached Dorpat considerably fatigued, having
walked forty miles from Teylitz. Upon my arri-
val it began to rain hard. I procured with diffi-
culty a lodging in the entrance of a tallow-chand-
ler's shop ; at least such I judged it from the nature
of its effluvia.

Dorpat is a beautiful little city, with an univer-
sity ; and bids fair, for its regularity and cleanli-
ness, to vie with Nancy in France. It stands upon
the right bank of the Ember. Handsome edifices,
with an imperial palace ; wide, clean, and regular
streets ; a beautiful stone bridge, in a picturesque
and fertile country, with its local situation between
two lakes, bespeak its important rank, independ-
ently of its antiquity.

On the following day I reached Nennal. I ob-
served on my route none but ugly women and
long-bearded men ; a sterile country, and yet to
me a costly one, for I was obliged to pay a silver
rouble for a coffee-breakfast, a charge I shall take
care never to incur again, as not suiting the state
of my finances. In spite of the approach of spring,
the weather seemed to increase in coldness, and
some snow fell; but my anxiety induced me to push
for Narva, where I arrived in time to breakfast ;
the road relieved only with imperial post-houses.

Narva, a considerable town, and the first in the
government of St Petersburg, possesses massive
remains of an ancient fortress, built by Ivan Vas-
silich the Great, overhanging the perpendicular

NARVA. 39

banks of the Narova. It carries too much of a
military air for me to particularize.

When on the point of resuming my journey, I
was accosted by a black gentleman, who, as he in-
formed me, was a resident and retired merchant of
St Petersburg. Understanding that I was a fo-
reigner, he entered into many inquiries with me,
of my rank, country, the object of my travels, and
my reason for pursuing them on foot. To these
questions I replied ; and to the last simply ob-
served, that I was in the habit of travelling on foot,
and that indeed I could not afford to see the world
in any more convenient manner. He expressed his
regret that a man of my merit had not been better
rewarded by fortune, and his satisfaction, at the
same time, that he had it in his power to offer me
a lift, even to the capital of Russia, having two
carriages empty ; and though he was prevented by
an affair of importance from resuming the journey
that day, I accepted the offer, and agreed to wait
his pleasure, rejoiced at the opportunity afforded
me of entering the imperial capital in style, with
less expense and still less fatigue. In the mean-
time we eat and drank freely at his charge ; and,
not to appear backward, I ordered for myself the
luxury of a proper bedroom, where I slept well.

I learnt next morning that the important busi-
ness which had detained my friend, was neither
more nor less than an intrigue with a rosy-cheek-
ed chambermaid. This being dispatched, we de-
parted ; he in the first and I in the second car-
riage, each drawn by four horses. I had a spe-
cific charge from him to use no ceremony in abu-
sing the coachman, if he should slacken in his
driving. I soon forgot this admonition in a sound

40 YAMBERG — KIPENE.

sleep, for which, hy the by, I afterwards got a se-
vere reprimand.

We passed through Yamberg, an imperial resi-
dence in a ruinous state ; when the Gulf of Fin-
land, opening to our view, presented to us an im-
mense mass of ice, studded with little snowy hil-
locks, but without a single vessel over its whole
surface.

We reached Kipene the next evening, where
we halted for post-horses. The country had been
a low overflowed desert. The weather was cold ;
and I was reminded by my feelings that we had
reached about the latitude of 60°. My compa-
nion, having again treated me with supper and
bed, left me for the night, evidently a little nettled
at his ill success in engaging the affections of a
little Russian girl, who had waited on us at table.

While at breakfast next morning, and just as
the horses were announced, my companion asked
me whether I was furnished with a passport. I
replied in the affirmative. He requested to see
it ; and, observing my name, inquired if I was re-
lated to <f Admiral Kakran, who was in de West
Indies, at de capture of de Danish Islands in 1807?"
Being informed I was the admiral's nephew, he
asked, " Are you the son of Massa Kakran Jahn-
stone ?" — « Yes, I am." — " You are, den," said he,
" dat lilly Massa Jonny I know at de same time."
It now turned out that this black gentleman, with
the two carriages and four horses each, had been
my father's and my uncle's servant thirteen years
before. Having talked over old matters, he re-
marked that he could never have recognised me,
from the alteration that time had made in my
features ; observing that I seemed to have verified
the West Indian proverb, " Like the black man's

ST PETERSBURG. 41

pig, very lilly, but dam old." I acknowledged the
justice of the remark, and proceeded to inquire his
history ; but as he did not seem inclined to be com-
municative on this head, I did not press him ; and
we proceeded — both in the same carriage, my
friend no longer considering me as a menial fol-
lower.

At1 noon, on the 30th of April, I reached St
Petersburg, having been eighty- three days from
London in performing a distance of sixteen hun-
dred miles, an average of nearly twenty miles a-day.
My sable friend, at parting, declined to give me
his address. I suppressed my chagrin ; but felt
an increased curiosity to learn the source of his
wealth and his situation in life.

The following morning I was relating the ad-
venture at a friend's house, where Doctor Ryan
(the medical attendant of the young Prince La-
banoff's family, with whom I had dined at the
house of Mr Rose, in Berlin) was present. He
was mentioning that the young prince, being on
the road from Petersburg to Berlin, had been over-
taken by winter in his summer carriage ; and, as
the latter season was near at hand, had sent his
black servant to Narva, to bring his carriages to
the capital. Fortune's frolic was now explained ;
my wealthy, dashing, overbearing, and intriguing
companion, being no more than the very humble
attendant of his highness.

Having once got settled in a comfortable lodging,
my first duty was to call upon Sir Daniel Bailey,
the British consul-general, then the only represen-
tative of the British court ; Lord Cathrart having
quitted St Petersburg, and Mr Casamajor de-
ceased. In Sir Daniel I found, not only a sincere
friend, but an able advocate for the plans I had in
d 2

42 ST PETERSBURG.

view. Through his means I transmitted a me-
morial to Count Nesselrode, the foreign minister,
who handed it to Count Kotchoubey for the ap-
probation of his Imperial Majesty. The memorial
contained a request that I might be permitted to
pass through the Russian empire, on my way to
America, either by Kamtchatka, or Behring's
Straits. I also solicited a sealed mandate from
the Emperor, with an order to all governors and
persons in authority to assist me to the utmost of
their power ; besides an open order to the police,
not to interfere with or molest me. I requested,
in addition, an especial letter to the governor-ge-
neral of Siberia.

I had been given to understand that his Impe-
rial Majesty had no objections to my proceeding
upon my journey, although he expressed a belief
that, when I should be furnished with the required
documents, I should flinch from my purpose. I
soon, however, satisfied the minister upon this
point, by declaring I would be ready to set out at
balf an hour's notice. In the meantime, the in-
tendant-general of police gave me three audiences,
examining me as to my rank and condition, my
plan and its object, with the et cetera of interroga-
tories, administered by persons in official situations
when desirous of extracting information beyond
the avowed object.

His excellency at length promised me his as-
sistance, and recommended me to Count Kotchou-
bey, into whose hands my business had entirely
fallen. The count also gave me three audiences,
repeating the same interrogatories as the intend-
ant. Finding, however, that I adhered to one
simple story — stating, as my object, a wish to em-
ploy, improve, and amuse myself, at the same time

ST PETERSBURG. 43

rendering to society all the service of which I was
capable — his excellency also dismissed me with
favour ; and through his interference, sanctioned
by the generosity and noblemindedness of the
Emperor, I procured even more than I had ex-
pected or demanded. His Imperial Majesty had
also the consideration to ask Colonel Cathcart, who
had recently arrived as successor to Mr Casama-
jor, whether I wanted money, and how much, to
enable me to start. I replied in the negative, ex-
pressing, very truly, my surprise and gratitude at
the offer. I was, moreover, instructed, in case of
such necessity, to apply to the respective gover-
nors at the places I should pass.

That this unsolicited munificence, on the part
of the Emperor, could only have sprung from the
generous feelings of his heart, and was not adopted
as a fagon de parler, is clear, from the fact that
his Imperial majesty did afterwards request of Sir
Charles Bagot to be informed whether I really
needed money, accompanied with an intimation,
that, in such case, I should be supplied from the
imperial treasury. I think I do no wrong to any
one, in believing that no other crowned head in
Europe would have given itself any concern about
me, or my affairs, or have taken any notice of a
stranger presenting himself, without any recom-
mendation of any weight, with the single exception
of a private letter of introduction to Sir Robert
Kerr Porter.

Among other intimations made to me, as from
the Emperor, was one which, 1 believe, originated
with the directors of the Russian American com-
pany : it was in the shape of a request that I should
refrain from making any inquiries respecting the
affairs of the said company. Coming through a

44 ST PETERSBURG.

public channel, I of course considered it ray duty
to promise a compliance with the request, though
it appeared to me singular that the Russian com-
pany should have for one moment suspected me
of ill-will towards them, or of being employed as
a spy on their affairs. It is, however, certain that
they had some apprehension of this sort ; as they
not only threw obstructions in my way to the Em-
peror, but after offering and promising me letters
of recommendation to their different settlements
and chancellories, refused them, upon the plea that
they were useless, from my ignorance of the Rus-
sian language. Whether Mr Crammer, their di-
rector, from whom this unlooked-for and unhand-
some treatment emanated, believed that Russian
civility should be limited to those who understood
the language, I know not ; if he did, every consi-
derate person must perceive that the less I under-
stood of the manners, language, and customs of
any foreign country, the more I actually stood in
need of assistance in it. Were the company con-
scious that their affairs required secrecy, their harsh
conduct towards me was certainly the least likely
mode of binding me to their interests, or of secu-
ring the fulfilment of any promise they might oblige
me to make, beyond those confined to ocular de-
monstration and strict neutrality of speech.

During my three weeks stay in St Petersburg,
I was most hospitably received by several respect-
able British merchants. I employed the spare
time in walking about the capital and viewing its
wonders ; and although I abandon the description
of them, as a task beyond my power, I cannot
help saying, that no city I have seen can equal it
in external magnificence. Large, straight, and
parallel streets, noble public buildings in every

ST PETERSBURG. 45

style of architecture, numerous imperial and pri-
vate palaces, handsome pavements for carriages
and foot passengers, several beautiful canals run-
ning- round and through the city, and carrying
away every offensive matter, the perfect cleanli-
ness in every part, its immense number of churches,
and lastly, its magnificent river washing the finest
quays in Europe ; — these are only the more stri-
king features of St Petersburg. The bustle in most
of the principal streets, and the number of vehicles
of various descriptions, add to its importance. It
is, however, a little too stiffened with a military
air, being everywhere crowded with soldiers and
police officers, and the daily parades are better at-
tended than the workshops and manufactories.
Nor is this tendency surprising, when it is consi-
dered that, in one short war, Russia has arisen from
comparative insignificance, to rank as the third, if
not the second military power in Europe. It may
indeed be objected that her advances are too rapid
for her age ; but this point I leave for discussion
to those who have not before them a journey of
eight or ten thousand miles, for which I have not
a single hour to make preparation.

[ 46 ]

CHAPTER III.

St Petersburg — Tzarsko Se!o — Tosr, a— Novgorod — Zait-
zova — Vedrova — Vishney-Volotchok — Torjock — Tver
— Davidova — Moscow — Vladimir — Dratchevo — Pogost
— Pavlovo — Nishney Novgorod. '

I was now furnished with all the documents
which I had deemed necessary. They consisted
of the following : The customary passport, with
the substitution of the minister's for the governor-
general's signature ; a secret letter to the gover-
nor-general of Siberia ; and two official documents
which I shall give at length.

The first of these (addressed — " To all civil
governors," and signed by the minister of the in-
terior) states, that " The bearer hereof, Captain
John Cochrane, of the British royal navy, purpo-
sing to travel through Russia on foot, is now on
his departure for Kamtchatka, with the intention
of penetrating from thence to America.

" Having, by the command of his Imperial Ma-
jesty, provided this traveller with open instruc-
tions to the police of all the towns and provinces
lying in his track from St Petersburg to Kamt-
chatka, this is also to desire all the chiefs of the
different governments through which he may tra-
vel, to aid Captain Cochrane, as far as possible,

ST PETERSBURG. 47

to proceed on his journey without interruption, as
well as to afford him lawful defence and protec-
tion, in case it should be desired."

The other was an " open order of his Imperial
Majesty Alexander the First, Autocrat of all the
Russias," &c. &c. &c. signed by the same minis-
ter, and stating, that " The bearer hereof, Captain
John Cochrane, of his Britannic Majesty's royal
navy, having undertaken to travel on foot through
the Russian empire, is now on his way to Kamt-
chatka, intending from thence to pass over to
America. The police of the towns and provinces
lying in his track from St Petersburg to Kamt-
chatka, are, in consequence hereof, not only for-
bidden to obstruct Captain Cochrane in his jour-
ney, but are moreover commanded, in case of ne-
cessity, to afford him eveiy possible assistance."

I quitted the hospitable habitation of Sir Ro-
bert Kerr Porter, on the 24th of May ; and, ha-
ving had a lift in the carriage with four horses of
Sir Robert, I, with my knapsack on my back, set
out, and trotted over a partially cultivated coun-
try. A pretty avenue of birch trees lined the
road, as if to accompany me as far as possible on
my departure from the precincts of civilized man.
Nature here got the better of a tolerably stout
heart; and, as I turned round to catch a last
glimpse of the capital I had left, and of the friends
to whom I had bade, perhaps, a last adieu, I
could not suppress my grief, and, had not my ho-
nour been committed, should certainly have re-
turned. A sigh escaped me as I ejaculated a last
farewell, till, startling at the expression of my
weakness, I resumed my journey with slow and
melancholy steps.

It was ten o'clock, (for I had now a watch),

48 DEPARTURE FROM

and I had reached six miles. The night was
beautifully clear, though rather cold from the ef-
fects of a northern breeze ; while the moon was
near her full. I looked at the beautiful luminary,
and actually asked myself whether I were, as had
been asserted, under the baneful influence of that
planet. Smiling that I received no reply, I then
considered my projects and intentions, and the
conduct I ought to follow ; and, sitting down at a
fountain on the Poulkousky hill, I read to myself
a few lessons, whicli the time and the occasion
seemed to inspire. " Go," said I, (t and wander
with the illiterate and almost brutal savage ! — go
and be the companion of the ferocious beast ! — go
and contemplate the human being in every ele-
ment and climate, whether civilized or savage — of
whatever tribe, nation, or religion. Make due
allowance for the rusticity of their manners ; nor
be tempted to cope with them in those taunts, in-
sults, and rudeness, to which the nature of thy en-
terprise will subject thee. Contemn those inci-
dental circumstances which but too often surprise
mankind from their good intentions, and deprive
the world of much useful and interesting informa-
tion. Avoid all political and military topics, and
remember, that

The proper study of mankind is man.

Should robbers attack thee, do not, by a foolish
resistance, endanger thy life. Man may become
hardened by crimes, and persist in the practice of
them, till, meeting with resistance, he will be ur-
ged to murder ; but man is still a humane being,
even while seeking his subsistence by rapine and
plunder ; and seldom, from mere wantonness, will
he spill the blood of his fellow-creature. It is

ST PETERSBURG. 49

only by patience, perseverance, and humility, by
reducing thyself to the lowest level of mankind,
that thou canst expect to pass through the ordeal
with either safety or satisfaction." Something like
these were my self-dictated precepts, and I pled-
ged their performance in a draught from the cool
and limpid fountain.

In company with some carters I resumed my
journey ; and depositing my knapsack in one of
their vehicles, entered into conversation as well
as my scanty knowledge of German would allow
me.

As we proceeded, there suddenly rose to the
south-east a tremendous blaze, the cause of which
it seemed difficult to conjecture. At first I ima-
gined it might be, as I had often seen in England,
a blazing bonfire, with a group of mirthful rustics
revelling round it. But the scene grew soon too
terrific to allow of so simple a solution, the flame
rising to a prodigious height, and the smoke rolling
into a beautiful dark arch on the clear sky. Im-
mense masses of fire, and sparks at intervals, ex-
ploded and separated like a rocket.

We continued to gaze as we advanced, till, on
reaching the beautiful town of Tzarsko Selo, the
source was indeed but too apparent ; it was the
Emperor's favourite palace wrapped in an inex-
tinguishable flame. I had looked forward with
hope to enjoy the survey of so celebrated an edi-
fice, and had actually taken a letter of recommend-
ation to Prince Theodore Galitzin, one of its prin-
cipal inhabitants, that I might with the more faci-
lity have my desire gratified. It was midnight ;
parties of men surrounded the wasting pile. All,
however, was order and regularity ; not a voice
was heard amid the thousands of people employed.

VOL. I. E

50 TZARSKO SELO.

The Emperor was present, evidently impressed
with extreme regret, and all appeared powerfully
to partake the sentiment. His Majesty, however,
continued to give frequent directions with perfect
coolness.

Tzarsko Selo was the palace in which the Em-
peror and his brother Constantine had been brought
up, and passed their earlier years ; it was hither
also that the Emperor was accustomed to retire,
when the cares of state permitted him, to lose
among its beauties the anxieties of a throne and
the toils of so great a government. It had been
greatly embellished by his Majesty, and was consi-
dered one of the most beautiful retreats in Europe.
Years of time, and millions of money, I thought,
must be expended, to make it what it was but
yesterday morning.

Being excessively fatigued, and finding my in-
dividual exertions perfectly useless towards check-
ing the progress of the flames, I retired to the gar-
dens, where I passed a couple of restless hours on
a bed of moss, amid herbs and flowers, whose
sweet perfumes were as yet unvanquished by the
fire or smoke. Some demon seemed to hover over
me, and my dreams presented the probable inci-
dents of my journey, in all the horrors which ima-
gination could shadow forth. I arose, and re-
turned to the scene of devastation, now evidently
increasing, and appearing to defy the numerous
engines pouring upon it from all sides.

The dome of the church fell with a tremendous
crash ; and such was the immense mass of fire
that fell with it, and so great the force of the re-
bound, that in its second descent, and assisted by
the wind, it set fire to two other parts of the pa-
lace, until then considered safe. At this critical

TOSNA. 51

moment his Imperial Majesty gave a strong proof
of steady collectedness. While the fire was raging
from apartment to apartment, apparently mocking
the resistance of man, the Emperor gave direction
that the doors should be walled up with bricks.
This was instantly done, and by such an expedient
alone could the amber, the most valuable chamber,
have been wrested from the general destruction.

Having taken breakfast with Prince Theodore,
and amused myself with the infantine prattle of
his children, whether in the French, English, or
German languages, for they seemed anxious to
show off the proficiency they had made, I pro-
ceeded towards Tosna, where I arrived at seven
in the evening. Young firs and birch border the
road, which is good ; though the country presents
but little of interest, and seems to support but a
slender population, considering its proximity to
the capital.

I passed the night in the cottage of a farmer,
resigning myself to the attacks and annoyance of
such vermin as generally haunt impoverished dwell-
ings, and was therefore proportionably pleased in
the morning to resume my journey. My route
was towards Liubane, at about the ninth mile-
stone from which I sat down, to smoke a cigar or
pipe, as fancy might dictate ; I was suddenly sei-
zed from behind by two ruffians, whose visages
were as much concealed as the oddness of their
dress would permit. One of them, who held an
iron bar in his hand, dragged me by the collar to-
wards the forest, while the other, with a bayonet-
ed musket, pushed me on in such a manner as to
make me move with more than ordinary celerity ;
a boy, auxiliary to these vagabonds, was stationed
on the road-side to keep a look-out.

52 TOSNA.

We had got some sixty or eighty paces into the
thickest part of the forest, when I was desired to
undress, and having stripped off my trowsers and
jacket, then my shirt, and, finally, my shoes and
stockings, they proceeded to tie me to a tree.
From this ceremony, and from the manner of it, I
fully concluded that they intended to try the ef-
fect of a musket upon me, by firing at me as they
would at a mark. I was, however, reserved for
fresh scenes ; the villains, with much sangfroid,
seated themselves at my feet, and rifled my knap-
sack and pockets, even cutting out the linings of
the clothes in search of bank bills or some other
valuable articles. They then compelled me to
take at least a pound of black bread, and a glass
of rum, poured from a small flask which had been
suspended from my neck. Having appropriated
my trowsers, shirts, stockings, and English shoot-
ing shoes, (the last of which I regretted most of
all, as they were a present from Sir D. Bailey,)
as also my spectacles, watch, compass, thermome-
ter, and small pocket-sextant, with one hundred
and sixty roubles, (about seven pounds,) they at
length released me from the tree, and, at the point
of a stiletto, made me swear that I would not in-
form against them — such, at least, I conjectured
to be their meaning, though of their language I
understood not a word.

Having received my promise, I was again treated
to bread and rum, and once more fastened to the
tree, in which condition they finally abandoned
me. Not long after a boy who was passing heard
my cries, and set me at liberty. I did not doubt
he was sent by my late companions upon so con-
siderate an errand, and felt so far grateful ; though
it might require something more than common

TOSNA. 53

charity to forgive their depriving me of my shirt
and trowsers, and leaving me almost as naked as
I came into the world.

To pursue my route, or return to Tzarsko Selo,
would indeed be alike indecent and ridiculous,
but there being no remedy, I made therefore " for-
ward" the order of the day ; and having first, with
the remnant of my apparel, rigged myself a VE-
cossoise, I resumed my route. I had still left me
a blue jacket, a flannel waistcoat, and a spare one,
which I tied round my waist in such a manner
that it reached down to the knees ; my empty
knapsack was restored to its old place, and I trot-
ted on with even a merry heart.

Within a few miles I passed betwixt files of sol-
diers employed in making a new road, under the
orders of General Woronoff, upon whom I waited
to report the situation in which I was placed.
The servant, perhaps naturally enough, refused to
let me pass without first acquainting his excellency
with my business ; I, however, steadily persisted
in my determination ; and at length, hearing the
noise and scuffle of turning me out, the general
appeared, and listened to my mournful tale. The
good heart of his excellency suggested the neces-
sity of first administering me food ; some clothes
were then offered to me, which I declined, consi-
dering my then dress as peculiarly, as well as na-
tionally, becoming. The general then sent an of-
ficer with two men back to the village, to make
inquiries concerning the robbery. These were,
however, fruitless, and I quitted, with many thanks
to his excellency, in his own carriage, which was
directed to take me the first station. I soon dis-
covered that carriage-riding was too cold, and
therefore preferred walking, barefooted as I was ;
e2

54 NOVGOROD.

and on the following morning I reached Tschduvo,
a low and uncultivated waste, a hundred miles from
St Petersburg. Thence to Podberezie, and thence
to Novgorod. I had passed on the road many po-
pulous and neat villages, and numerous tents be-
longing to the military workmen, which gave ad-
ditional interest to a fertile and picturesque sce-
nery. To the left was the river Volkhoff, on which
Novgorod stands. The approach is grand, and
the numerous spires and steeples of the churches
and convents, with their gilded and silvered case-
ments glittering in the sun, recalled for a moment
the memory of its ancient splendour. Crossing the
bridge, I entered at two o'clock, and immediately
waited on the governor. He would have provi-
ded me with clothing on the instant ; I was, how-
ever, hungry, and requested food. The governor
smiled, but assented, and I then accepted a shirt
and trowsers.

I was recommended by his excellency to stop
at Novgorod a few days, under the promise that
he would apprehend the robbers. 1 told him I
felt no doubt they would be discovered ; but be-
fore that time I should have reached the heart of
Siberia. Good quarters were, meantime, provided
me in the habitation of a Russian merchant, to
whom I had a letter of recomm ndation from St
Petersburg. He had also the k.nd consideration
to provide me a complete refit ; and though this
must have been at an expense of thirty or forty
roubles, he positively refused my offer of reim-
bursement— an offer I was enabled to make through
the delicate kindness of his excellency the Gover-
nor Gerebzoff.

This ancient and celebrated city, which in for-
mer days was characterised by the proverb, " Who

NOVGOROD. 55

can resist the Gods and the great Novgorod ?" is
now only the capital of a province of its own name.
In its former glory it was the metropolis of a great
republic, with four hundred thousand souls within
its walls. The population is now reduced to a
fortieth part. Its immense trade had been gra-
dually declining since the cruelties of Ivan Vassi-
lich II., and was completely annihilated by the
removal of the seat of government, by Peter the
Great, from Moscow to the Gulf of Finland. Many
handsome edifices, now in ruins, are lamentable
proofs of its former grandeur and present decay.
Its archiepiscopal cathedral, small, but very an-
cient, is filled with superstitious relics, and the
ashes of several Russian Grand Dukes.

The steeples of Novgorod present a monument
of considerable pride in the estimation of its in-
habitants. Their distinction is in the cross at the
top standing alone, unaccompanied by the crescent ;
and this is an emblem, intimating that the Tartars,
in all their invasions, never succeeded so far as to
enter this city. A distinction which universally
holds in Russia ; the reconquered cities bearing
the crescent, but surmounted by the cross.

The following day, being that of Pentecost, I
attended the service in the cathedral ; and though
I understood nothing of the language, yet was I
forcibly struck with the primitive appearance of
the clergy in their long beards, longer tresses, and
still longer robes. They certainly carried all the
appearance of devout ministers of religion.

I had intended, from Novgorod, a visit to Mr
Glenny, at his establishment, eight miles distant,
on the banks of the Veshora. Not finding him,
however, I put up at a farm-house for the night,
having previously drunk kuass at a convent, paid

56 ZAITZuVA.

a rouble for chanty, and received a blessing upon
entering Muscovy — not without a hope that I
should find better treatment here than in Esthonia.
Next day, passing over a wild dreary waste to Zait-
zova, a pleasant town, of fifteen hundred inhabi-
tants, I put up at a civil house, if the admission
of both sexes, and of all ranks and dispositions,
may deserve such a term ; the variety was indeed
ludicrous enough, but the conduct and conversation
were not of such a nature as to merit description.

The women of Muscovy hitherto appear civil
and cleanly dressed, though disfigured by the abo-
minable custom of tying their breasts as low, flat,
and tight as possible ; they are not, however, quite
so ludicrous as some of the Creoles and slaves in
the West Indies, who often suckle their children
behind their backs. The men appear equally civil,
obliging, and hospitable, but almost equally dis-
guised by their swaddling coat of cloth or sheep-
skin, coloured trowsers, and immense boots, sash
round the body, a wide-rimmed hat, and long
beard ; a mode of dress which certainly gives them
something of a ferocious appearance.

On the road to Yedrova I received two roubles
as charity from the master of a post-house, from
whom also I had received refreshment gratis.
Knowing, as I did, that assistance was at hand, I
declined the money, although my then distressed
state might have warranted my open acceptance of
it. I continued my route ; and, upon my arrival
at the next station, I found the money in my cap.
This is, indeed, real benevolence.

The canals are observable to the east, and pre-
sent a beautiful appearance from the neat town of
Yedrova. Reached Vishney-Volotchok late at
night, a large scattered but nourishing town, for-

TORJOCK. 57

merly an imperial village, but enfranchised by
Catherine, with canals uniting the trades of the
Caspian and Baltic seas. I had previously crossed
the Valday hills, which are the only elevations be-
tween the two capitals. They are in the govern-
ment of Novgorod, as is also the Valday lake, nine
miles in circumference. It has an island in its
centre, on which stands a handsome monastery,
which, with its steeples glittering through the dark
foliage of its intervening woods, forms a beautiful
and interesting object. There is also a little town
of the same name on its banks. The land here
rises into gentle eminences, with a good deal of
cultivation.

Torjock was the next flourishing town which I
reached, amid rain and thunder. This slight im-
pediment, which broke up my travelling for the
day, richly compensated the delay, by introducing
me, first, to an excellent supper, gratis ; and, se-
condly, to a beautiful and kind-hearted young wi-
dow, sister of the unfortunate Captain Golovnin,
who was so inhumanly exposed in a cage at Japan.
The master of the public house had civilly received
me, and I was enjoying my own meditations, when
Mrs Golovnin entered my room, accosting me in
German, French, Russian, and lastly in my native
tongue. After the manner of her sex, she got all
my secrets out of me — but one — and in return
sent me some tea, proffering, at the same time, the
assistance of her purse. Had she offered me her
hand and heart, I certainly should have replied
otherwise than I did, for 1 felt very affectionately
and gratefully towards so kind and lovely a wo-
man, and who, although a widow, had yet scarcely
passed her teens. Upon getting up in the morn-
ing, I discovered that my knapsack had been

58 TVER.

searched, and my small stock of linen had been
taken out and washed ; but of course not the small-
est article was missing.

I refreshed myself at the fount, (which is always
at hand in a Russian cottage, with a tea-kettle or
other spouted vessel hanging over it,) breakfasted,
and, making my conge to the household gods in
the near corner of the room, departed from Tor-
jock. I had not proceeded far when I met a car-
riage, and immediately heard myself addressed in
the English language — " How do you do, Captain
Cochrane ?" On my acknowledging the name, the
carriage stopped, and the owner, who proved to
be a Mr Hippius, and had for some time been on
the look-out for me, treated me very heartily to a
biscuit and glass of wine. I then wished him a
pleasant journey, and resumed mine, light as a lark
at the unexpected pleasure of seeing English faces,
and hearing my own tongue. Those who have
been similarly situated, can readily conceive how
happy I was to have met with a countryman in
such a manner.

My way lay over a country where the Tver is
a wandering stream, and where numerous hand-
some seats and neat villages made their appear-
ance. These, however, but too strongly reminded
me of the effects of absenteeship in Ireland, being
evidently in a rapid state of decay. I have no
hesitation, however, in saying, that the condition
of the peasantry here is far superior to that class
in Ireland. In Russia provisions are plentiful,
good, and cheap ; while in Ireland they are scanty,
poor, and dear, the best part being exported from
the latter country, whilst the local impediments in
the other render them not worth that expense.
Good comfortable log-houses are here found in

TVER. 59

every village ; immense droves of cattle are scat-
tered over an unlimited pasture, and whole forests
of fuel may be obtained for a trifle. With ordi-
nary industry and economy the Russian peasant
may become rich, especially those of the villages
situated between the capitals, both of which might
be supplied by them with butter and cheese ;
whereas at present not a dairy exists, the pea-
santry contenting themselves with the culture of
as much land, and the breeding of as many cattle,
as may be sufficient for their immediate wants.
The women I have always found engaged in some
employment ; they make very good coarse wool-
len cloths and linens, as well as knit stockings and
spin thread. The whole work of the house is
thrown upon them, while they also partake the
labours of the field. I will not certainly recom-
mend, for the adoption of any civilized countries,
the treatment they receive from their lordly mas-
ters ; although I have no doubt the like was the
custom of England half a century ago, and may be
still in the hard-working counties. Having men-
tioned Ireland in comparison with Russia, I may
remark, that both countries may fairly vie with
one another in the ancient savage virtue of hospi-
tality.

Reached Tver the following day, and put up at
the habitation of a long-bearded merchant ; where,
after enjoying a good supper and sound sleep, I
employed myself in perambulating the city. It is
said to contain fifteen thousand inhabitants, being
considerably larger, or at least more populous than
Novgorod. Tver is situated at the junction of two
small rivers, which empty themselves into the noble
Volga ; the latter hence taking an easterly course
towards Nishney Novgorod, and fertilizing, in its

60 TVER.

course to the Caspian, some of the finest provinces
in the Russian empire.

The first circumstance which attracted my notice
upon reaching Tver, was at the gate, where an
impost of three large stones is levied upon every
horse that passes. These are converted to the
paving of the city ; nor will the tax appear either
slight or useless in a country where stones are not
very abundant.

Crossing the river over a fine bridge of boats, of
550 feet in length, I entered the principal part of
the city. The public edifices on the banks of the
Volga are handsome, and kept in good order,
though the archbishop's palace resembles one of
our workhouses. There is also a theatre, good bar-
racks, and a beautiful building called the Prince's
Palace, rebuilt by Catherine. The cathedral is of
plain stone ; there are, besides, thirty-four churches
and three convents, (one of which is said to contain
the ashes of a page, whose prince deprived him of
his mistress at the moment of their marriage, and
afterwards, when too late, repenting of it, and wish-
ing to expiate his crime, had this convent built,)
— two of them are for men and one for women ;
three hospitals are also established upon a liberal
plan, and a bazar, with handsome piazzas, forms
the city lounge. The public gardens and walks are
certainly susceptible of improvement ; but, upon
the whole, it has a clean and regular appearance,
and bids fair, from its trade and situation, to be-
come an important city. The government exports
immense quantities of grain from hence to St Pe-
tersburg, and two hundred barges were now lying
off the city loaded with that article, and with se-
veral millions of eggs.

A young Frenchman, who had been five time*
2

TVER. 61

wounded in the battle of Borodino ! I ! accompanied
me in my rambles. He prefers, it seems, to re-
main here, teaching his native language, rather than
return to his native country. He murmured a lit-
tle at the facility with which his scholars acquired
the tongue ; remarking also, what I believe is now
generally acknowledged, the general aptitude of
the Russian, whether in learning or teaching. I
visited among other things a canal, which the last
of the independent princes projected and began, to
shorten a communication, as well as to form a win-
ter haven for the barges and other small craft,
which were, and indeed are still, exposed to con-
siderable danger from the ice in the Volga. A mile
only is wanting to complete this great and useful
undertaking, in the junction of the Tmak and Volga.
Of the earth thrown out during the excavation, has
been formed at once a good road and a strong ram-
part to the city.

It was at Tver that I first began to comprehend
any thing of the Russian hierarchy. It appears
that the Greek church admits of two distinct
classes and degrees, which may be called monastic
and lay orders ; to the first of which belong metro-
politans, archbishops, bishops, archimandrites, and
egoumens or abbots ; to the second, protopopes or
deans, priests, archdeacons, deacons, clerks, and
readers. Each provincial capital has an institu-
tion to which all the sons of the clergy are admis-
sible, to study the principles of their theology, and
moral philosophy, and are afterwards turned over
to the general college to complete their education,
either for a military or an ecclesiastical life. If
the former be adopted, they enter the army with
the rank and pay of an officer ; if the latter, they
are ordained deacons. The obligation of marriage

VOL. i. f

62 DAVIDOVA.

is imposed upon all those who are below the de-
gree of an egoumen or abbot ; and should the wives
die before their ordination as priests, they are for
ever precluded from that order. But if the wife
of a priest dies, he may nevertheless become a
dean : and if he afterwards enters a monastery, he
may arrive at the highest degree. Should, how-
ever, the theological disciple be determined upon
a state of celibacy, he may at once enter the mo-
nastic order, and become possessed of the power
of a priest, as well as of the highest degree ; but he
can never afterwards become a disciple of Hymen.
The revenue of a metropolitan does not exceed
eight hundred pounds a-year, that of an archbishop
six hundred, and of a bishop five hundred — sums
apparently as small as persons of their rank can
possibly subsist upon, even in Russia. They are,
however, allowed a considerable sum, which is
paid to them annually, for the purposes of charity.
Early on Monday, the 5th June, I quitted Tver
for Moscow, passing sometimes along the banks of
the Volga, at others over a rich grain country,
amusing my mind alternately with the contempla-
tion of the promising crops, and the thousands of
loaded barges destined to bear them. Reached
Davidova (thirty-two miles) at two o'clock, where
I stopped to refresh, passing on my way a great
number of pedestrian labourers, who, like the Gal-
legos of Spain, were travelling to the southward
to assist the less populous districts in getting in
the harvest. An amazing quantity of timber was
felled and felling on the road-side, merely for the
purpose of keeping the road in repair ; nearly the
whole distance from Novgorod to Moscow being
a wooden causeway. At eight in the evening I
continued my route, reaching Klinn at midnight.

Moscow. 63

and Peski at four in the morning. The country
had a pleasing appearance, immense herds of cat-
tle and flocks of sheep, with well-peopled villages,
greeting the eye in every direction. I was sup-
plied with plenty of black bread, milk, salt, and
kuass, which I found very excellent fare. Passing
through Tschornaya Graz, I entered Moscow at
eight in the morning, the last stage being distress-
ingly fatiguing. Much rain fell, and I was not a
little happy to reach the hospitable abode of Mr
Rowan in time to breakfast. The last thirty- two
hours I warrant as bearing witness to one of my
greatest pedestrian trips — the distance is 168 versts,
or about 96 miles : I have, however, done the same
in Portugal.

The landscape on the approach to Moscow, from
the Petersburg side, gives no promise of so great
a metropolis, it being over a dreary and desolate
waste. Nor does the immense and ancient capital
itself make its appearance until the traveller is
within two miles of it, when, upon rounding a
small low copse, sprinkled with a few genteel
dwellings, hundreds of spires and steeples, domes
and towers, flash upon the eye — one vast assem-
blage of buildings rising in the fore-ground, and
only the uncultivated Sparrow-hills upon the right.

After breakfast I waited upon his excellency
the govern or- general, and arranged my papers so
as to allow the resumption of my journey at leisure,
and then perambulated the city. Among other
things, the great gun, in whose muzzle I sat up-
right, as well as the greater bell, bespoke my at-
tention.

I shall not enter upon the discussion of the many
and strange stories of which this bell has been the
subject ; but on the assertion of the learned Dr

64 MOSCOW.

Clarke, that the Russian nation might as well at-
tempt to suspend a three-decker, with all her ap-
parel, tackling, &c. I would only observe, that no
nation possesses hetter means for performing such
a feat, nor has any nation made a hetter use of such
means than Russia ; they are, I should think, qua-
lified to remove as large or as weighty a body as
any other nation in Europe. The Russians, forty
years ago, transported, from the frontiers of Eu-
rope to the north-east of Asia, cannon, anchors,
and other heavy articles, belonging to an expedition
about to explore the Icy Sea, and all went over
land for a distance of about seven thousand miles.
I have seen similar exertions in Canada, hut by no
means superior ; and it must not be forgotten, that
any thing can and will be done in Russia, when
the order is accompanied with those almighty
words, " kacknee bouid," winch truly means " any
how," but is generally used in the sense of " it
must be done."

It will not be supposed that I should omit to
visit the Kremlin, which is still an extraordinary
place. Although much of its singular appearance
has been obviated in the restored buildings, yet it
is still far from regular. The view from the tower
of St John is still preserved, that building having
withstood the fury of the general conflagration.
The new imperial palace is wholly undeserving the
name ; and only that a building is wanted for the
use of the imperial family, and that there was a
vacancy upon the site on which it stands, it would
call loudly for another firebrand. Of course I
conformed to the general custom in taking off my
hat as I passed under the holy gate, and again on
visiting the little chapel of Peter the Great. In
every other respect than that of population, I found

Moscow. 65

Moscow the same as in Clarke's time, beautifui
and rich, grotesque and absurd, magnificent and
mean. But besides these general features, there is
at present one arising from latter circumstances,
the city being only half built and the streets half
finished ; brick and mortar everywhere incommo-
ding the passenger. Such is the appearance of Mos-
cow, which is yet very surprising, considering how
recently it has risen from its ashes.

The former number of churches, chapels, and
mosques (the forty-forties) is now reduced to less
than half the number. Of public and private hos-
pitals there are several. The most remarkable is
the Foundling, which escaped the fire; a noble
and well-endowed edifice. The average number
of infants received, one year with another, is esti-
mated at five or six thousand. Not more than
two-thirds of these are understood to be reared.
What, besides the ordinary dangers attendant on
exposure, principally of course in the night, and in
such a climate, may be the cause of this mortality,
I know not, and it would be evidently foreign to
my object to inquire.

The hospitals of Count Sheremetioffand Prince
Galitzin are monuments of private beneficence and
public humanity. The former has two hundred
and fifty patients within its walls, independent of
out-door pensioners. Persons of all nations, and
of both sexes, and with whatever disorders they
may be afflicted, are admissible for cure ; and the
old and infirm remain for life. A physician, sur-
geon, inspector, apothecary, and proper attendants,
are settled on the establishments, with handsome
salaries and apartments. The buildings are spa-
cious and elegantly modern. The wards are small,
containing but eight patients, a novel, though per-
F 2

66 Moscow.

haps an improving feature in a medical establish-
ment, as evidently tending to the diminution of
contagion. The rooms are well ventilated. The
revenue is 150,000 roubles, derived from the pro-
perty of 8000 peasants, besides lands and villages.
The late count is said to have founded the hospi-
tal in consideration of the Emperor's permission to
marry one of his own female slaves. The pre-
sent young count deserves much credit, for having
improved the rents and extended the privileges of
the hospital. That belonging to Prince Galitzin
is on a similar plan, although not quite so exten-
sive.

Moscow is said to stand upon more ground than
any city in Europe ; which may very well be true,
as almost every palace or nobleman's house has a
garden, and all wooden houses are detached, from
the fear of fire. There are many public edifices
well worthy the attention of the traveller, as well
from the novelty of their architecture as from their
destination; the magnificence of some is indeed
surprising, containing as they d-o six or seven hun-
dred body servants during the winter season. The
present population is reckoned at three hundred
and fifty thousand souls ; a population which it is
supposed fluctuates sixty or seventy thousand —
the present, the winter season, being the period
when the gaieties are at their height. On the 30th
of May I quitted Moscow, in a drosky, accompa-
nied by Mr Rowan, to dine with a Scotch gentle-
man, a Mr Rogers, who manages the agricultural
part of Count Romansoff's property in the English
style, which has been introduced with great suc-
cess. We afterwards visited the beautiful botani-
cal garden of Count Razumofsky, called Gorinkay,
which does infinite credit to the superintendence

VOSPUCHE VLADIMIR. 67

of Dr Fischer. The number of its plants, thirteen
thousand, would alone recommend it to the botan-
ist, as will the buildings and pleasure-grounds to
that of the inferior savans. Two more patriotic
noblemen than these two do not exist.

From my highland companion I received a pair
of leather trowsers, no small present on such a
journey ; and, parting with my amiable and uni-
versally beloved friend Mr Rowan, commenced
my journey on foot. Passed, at two miles, the
magnificent chateau of a Prince Galitzin — (the
great number of these princes must excuse my spe-
cification of them) ; after which, amid heavy rain
and thunder, I passed through several small vil-
lages to Bouncova, lying in a well-cultivated and
picturesque country. I was greatly fatigued with
twenty-five miles of heavy walk, and felt indeed a
little melancholy. After a night's rest, however,
I resumed with revived spirits, and reached Vos-
puche. The country is interesting, and adorned
with many residences belonging to the lords of the
village, but which are going to ruin as fast as time
and neglect can push them. To Uchekittinah is
hill and dale, wood and water, all the way. I ar-
rived at Vladimir in time to breakfast, travelling
during the night to escape the heat of the sun.
My way of life had evidently excited an interest
in the peasantry among whom I passed, several of
them dividing their meals, and sharing their fire and
dwellings with me, with the most cordial good
will ; nor did the perusal of my passports, and
other Russian documents, afford them the less
surprise — such a favour they justly considered had
never before been granted, and therefore I was of
course more than ordinarily favoured.

I might nevertheless have considered myself

68 VLADIMIR.

fortunate, if I could have reached Vladimir with
only a sound drubbing instead of a broken head,
merely because I could not ask in the Russian lan-
guage for some kuass, and fire to light my pipe.
To prevent the recurrence of this evil, on the next
occasion I entered a house, sans ceremonie, and
helped myself. My hostess instantly dashed the
cup into the street, and, with the assistance of
others of her sex, drove me after it at the end of
broomsticks, which were besides not spared upon
my back. The odds were fearful against me ; I
was, therefore, content to bear my punishment
without resistance. At the next place, a decent
chop-house in Vladimir, I inquired, of a servant
who spoke French, the character of my persecu-
tors, and learned that most of those villages are in-
habited by Raskolnicks or Schismatics, who have
in a manner withdrawn or separated from the Greek
church, and admit of even less toleration than the
church of Rome. They are bound by the rules
of their religion to deny food, fire, and water, and
every assistance, to all who are not of their own
persuasion ; and are even forbidden to hold any in-
tercourse with them. Notwithstanding the repul-
siveness of these tenets, they are said to gain many
thousands of proselytes every year. They are con-
sidered good agriculturists, and of the most sober
and industrious habits, never drinking ardent spi-
rits, nor using tobacco. Among themselves they
are a kind friendly people, and excellent fathers
and husbands ; but towards the rest of the world
are — what I too certainly experienced.

Vladimir is a fine city on the banks of the Kli-
asma, the capital of a small province only, although
formerly of all Ducal Russia. Its situation is
beautiful, standing on a considerable eminence

DRATCHEVO MOUROM. 69

wliich overhangs the river, and commanding a fine
view of the surrounding country. There are still
remaining many traces of its former greatness, such
as the royal palace and gardens, a range of public
offices, and several handsome churches. The day
was hot, and I took advantage of it to wash and
dry my linen — no unusual thing with me on hoard
of a man of war, where I have often been obliged
not only to do this, but have been prevented from
wearing shoes or stockings on the score of econo-
my ; — alas ! how times are changed. My washing
being finished, I lay down under the bridge, and
enjoyed a sound sleep. In the evening I resumed
my route towards Nishney Novgorod.

The road was a heavy one, and when I had
passed seven versts, all signs of cultivation ceased.
By midnight I reached Soudogda, and at two the
next day, Morshok, over a low, sandy, and dreary
country, covered with brush-wood, furnishing no-
thing but materials for crack ships. In the even-
ing, at Dratchevo, my passports were demanded
by two young men, whom I somewhat hastily set
down as troublesome fellows, because no entreaties
could induce them to allow my proceeding without
my passport being inspected by the general of bri-
gade. I was, however, more than a little ashamed
of my pertinacity, on being sent to a comfortable
lodging, followed by a hot and substantial supper.
In the morning I received a message to attend the
general, with whom I breakfasted ; and in consider-
ation of having been detained all the night, which
was my time of travelling, I was favoured with a
vehicle as far as Mourom. This is the principal
rendezvous of the Mordva Tartars, bearing the
name of a city, but undeserving of that of village,
being a vast assemblage of unsociable huts, with

70 POGOST.

six or seven churches. Its situation on the Oka
is somewhat in its favour ; but, except that, and
tracing the origin of its eccentric inhabitants, I be-
lieve there is nothing of interest for the scientific —
much less for the ordinary — traveller.

Having hired a canoe, I paddled across the river,
and, following a dreary and marshy country, reach-
ed Manacovo. At a pretty little village on the
banks of a lake, at midnight. I was greatly charm-
ed with the singing of some boys and girls, accom-
panied by a simple instrument, called, in Russian,
baalaalaika, and which is in fact only a two-stringed
guitar. The effect of this rude harmony, softened
by its passage across the water, was peculiarly
sweet.

The beauty of the night prompted me to con-
tinue my route, and I left the happy villagers for
Pogost, twenty-four miles, where I arrived half
famished and quite fatigued, not having tasted food
during twenty-four hours, and a march of forty
miles. I had, however, drank abundantly, per-
haps incautiously, of water. The country wa9
level and fertile, well wooded, and somewhat pret-
ty, in its scenery. Nor is the town of Pogost by
any means an ill-built one ; its annual fair had just
terminated, and I could not help smiling at the
remnant of saleable articles, consisting of horses,
carts, wheels, saddlery, and, in short, every consti-
tuent and requisite for ordinary vehicles, besides
an abundance of common earthenware, rope, with
kuass and bread to refresh the sober, and barrels
of spirit to stupify the drunkard — of which, indeed,
there was no scarcity, either of men or women.

Being too jaded to proceed farther, I thought
myself fortunate in being able to pass the night in
a cask ; nor did I think this mode of passing the

PAVLOVO — NISHNEY NOVGOROD. 71

night a novel one ; often, very often, have I, in the
fastnesses of Spain and Portugal, passed the night
in a similar style. Here I usurp the place of
crockery, there I usurped that of wine ; here in the
land of liherality, there in that of nonentity. Ar-
rived at Pavlovo, distant fourteen miles, over a
cross road, and a beautiful as well as fertile valley,
studded with villages, in the midst of which the
Oka makes its course.

Pavlovo is placed in a bay on the left bank of
the Oka, which is crowded with small vessels. It
is said to contain eight thousand workmen, and is
the private property of General Sheremetioff, the
head of which family, a minor, is possessed of one
hundred and sixty thousand peasants. The gene-
ral's property is, however, a vile dirty place ; but
the surrounding country, and the view of it from
the palace, is very fine.

I had not an opportunity of viewing the immense
iron- works here carried on, being anxious to get on
towards Nishney Novgorod, which I entered on
the evening of the next day. I had previously
passed through Selo-Bogorodskoye, where I un-
derwent a second lecture for smoking in the vil-
lage. The elder of the village spared me, doubt-
less, however, on the same grounds as had excused
me on a previous occasion. The country appear-
ed extremely populous, and I felt highly pleased
with my walk on the elevated banks of the Oka, and
in witnessing its numerous establishments of tan-
ners and dyers, with such extensive iron- works,
that the neighbourhood of Pavlovo has been justly
termed the Birmingham of Russia.

The entrance to Nishney Novgorod is execrable,
from the extreme filthiness of the suburbs ; but de-
scending a steep hill, I found myself in a busy and

72 NISHNEY NOVGOROD.

crowded market, where I procured a drosky, and
proceeded to the dwelling of Baron Bode, to whom
I carried a recommendatory letter. He received
me kindly, placing me for board in his own house ;
while for lodging I preferred the open air of his
garden ; there, with my knapsack for a pillow, I
passed the night more pleasantly than I should
have done on a bed of down, which the baron most
sincerely pressed me to accept. The city is large,
scattered, and somewhat ill built, but evidently im-
proving. This is evinced by the number of new
buildings which have been erected, in consequence
of the celebrated fair called Makarieff being trans-
planted hither. The upper part of the city, in
which the governor, chief officers, and military, re-
side, is of course the best. Its situation is pecu-
liarly pleasant and airy, though surrounded by the
stubborn remains of the old citadel and Tartar wall.
The lower town which may be termed the St
Giles's of the city, is occupied principally by per-
sons engaged in merchandise.

Nishney Novgorod, in contradistinction to Great
Novgorod, owes its existence to the Great Duke
Vassil, who thus named it when he caused its in-
habitants to be transplanted there from the great
city before named. Its inhabitants, Russians and
Tartars, amount to fifteen or sixteen thousand,
though its visitors during the fair probably make
its population at that time from one hundred and
twenty to one hundred and fifty thousand. Among
them may be seen Chinese, Persians, Circassians,
Armenians, Tartars, Buchanans, Jews (of course),
and a specimen besides of almost every European
nation. The fair, in point of value, is considered
as second to none in Europe ; the business done
being estimated at nearly two hundred millions of

NISHNEY NOVGOROD. 73

roubles. This computation may probably allow a
deduction of about one half, but in any case the
government derives from it a very considerable re-
venue. The buildings on the site for the fair are
in a forward state, but will still require many
years, and several millions of money, to complete.
The situation is considered highly eligible, and the
plan is by General Betancourt, an eminent Spanish
engineer.

The eligibility of the new site is, notwithstand-
ing, fairly questionable, as it is not entirely re-
moved from the danger of an inundation by the
Oka, from the river giving indications, at no dis-
tant period, of shifting its channel ; in which case
the consequences must be fatal. A canal has re-
cently been cut so as to make this part an island,
instead of a peninsula as before ; a measure which,
in my opinion, contributes to weaken the founda-
tion, because the canal lies streamward of the fair,
and, consequently, at the rises or freshes of the ri-
ver, it is liable to be completely overflowed. When
it is recollected that the last overflowing of the
Volga formed a new bank of seven feet high above
the common bed of the river, between the city and
the fair, it is not too much to fear that it may serve
to change the course of the river, whose extra rise
was last year thirty-five feet ; and should the new-
formed bank prove a solid foundation, and resist for
some years the impetuosity of the stream, there
will then be no other outlet but the very site of the
fair, as it stands nearly opposite to the place where
the Oka discharges its waters into the Volga.
Many people think, and, it appears to me, reason-
ably, that lower down the Volga, as at Kazan or
Bokorotsk, were more eligible places for the fair,
when its removal became indispensable.

vol. i. g 3

74 NISHNEY NOVGOROD.

Nishney Novgorod is, also, too near St Peters-
burg, and too far from Persia, Astrakan, Bucha-
ria, and China, to be conveniently reached in one
season, because the latter journeys are against,
while the former is with, the stream. Had Kazan
or Bokorotsk been selected, the voyage would have
been more nearly equalized both in time and ex-
pense.

I was shown over the fair by a Spanish gentle-
man, now an officer of engineers of Russia, and
with whose family, in Granada in Spain, I had
lately resided. He is married to the daughter of
General Betancourt, chief of his department. I
dined with him and two other Spanish colonels, as
well as a young Moscovy Englishman, the whole
party even here, in the very heart of Russia, talk-
ing only the Spanish language.

His excellency the governor received me with
customary attention ; but I was not so fortunate as
to meet his amiable lady, an Englishwoman. The
truth was, her servant would not admit me, judg-
ing, no doubt, from the length of my beard and
shabbiness of my dress, that I must be a Jew, or
something worse. Thus denied, I embarked, in a
freak of fancy, on board a lighter bound to Kazan,
the better to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the
Volga ; having previously, and only just in time,
been supplied with provisions and a pair of English
shooting-shoes (my constant Godsends), through
the kindness of my excellent host Baron Bode.

L ™ 3

CHAPTER IV.

The Volga— Makarieff— Kusmodemiansk — Tchebacksar —

Vutchi Kazan — Perm — Koungour — Souksoum,Demi-

doff's Zavod — Achitskaya Krepost — Krasnoufinsk — Be-
limbaiefsky Zavod — Ekatherinebourg — Berezofsky--Ka-
mishloff— Turn en — Tobolsk.

I am now on the magnificent Volga. The light-
er on board which I had embarked did not depart
for thirty-six hours, and I felt too much of the sail-
or in me to quit her ; in short, I considered my-
self as one of the crew, working my passage, and
as such employed myself. Nothing was demanded
of me but to row the boat ashore for the captain,
and now and then a glass of vodkey. This I was
content to submit to, till I found that some grog
and more tobacco was followed by the demand of
still more grog, which my purse could very ill bear.
I was therefore very well pleased when the anchor
was weighed, and we descended the stream ; but
so slow was our progress, that we kept the heights
of Novgorod in sight for two days, being frequent-
ly obliged to anchor, with the ever-dunning sound
of " Vodkey, batiushka," or, Gin, master. The
vessel I was in measured about two hundred and
fifty tons, perfectly flat-bottomed, and drawing but

76 THE VOLGA.

five feet water. At length, losing sight of Nish-
ney Novgorod, we passed many islands and vil-
lages, the latter always on the right bank, and on
the left an uninterrupted low moorish heath. The
strength of the current I calculated at two knots
and a half.

The variety and singular appearance of the dif-
ferent craft on the Volga, not a little surprised and
amused me, as well as the innumerable different
ways in which they were propelled. The present
season of the year, that immediately preceding the
fair, is the best for the navigation of the Volga,
when barks from one thousand tons to the size of
a canoe, all promiscuously float together. They
are generally provided with one mast, which, in
the largest, may equal a frigate's main-mast. The
weight of the mat-sail must be prodigious, having
no fewer than an hundred and sixty breadths in it ;
and yet the facility with which it is managed will
bear comparison with that of the Yankies, with
their boom main-sail in the fore and aft clippers.
They are generally worked by from fifteen to forty
people. The rudder is a ponderous machine, in
many cases suspended from the stern-post, and yet
towing astern twelve and fifteen feet ; the tillers of
which I have ascertained from measurement to be
from thirty to forty feet long, and all worked by
the hand.

The soil on either side is clay and chalk, and
the wood fir and birch. The inhabitants of the
villages are the inoffensive and ignorant Fins, a
race of people more approximating to the character
of the Gallegos in Lisbon than any other class of
people I have seen. Their great content and small
possessions are in both a prominent feature. We
reached Makarieff after a tedious and vexatious

MAKARIEFF. 77

voyage, vexatious from the annoyance of the horse-
flies and mosquitoes. I was fairly put to the al-
ternative whether, during my sleep, I would be
suffocated or devoured. I preferred the former as
smacking more of humanity, wrapping myself up
close in a spare sail, with three others of the crew.

Makarieff is the first inhabited spot from Nish-
ney Novgorod, on the left bank of the Volga ; a
straggling and ill-built place, although a large mo-
nastery, at one extremity, appears to strive hard to
acquire for it an appearance of respectability. The
great fair, which is now held at Nishney Novgo-.
rod, was formerly held here ; but was removed on
the destruction of its site by fire, wilfully, as is
supposed. Many vessels, loaded with tallow,
hides, and iron, were then lying off it, wind-bound,
rather than work up between the numerous islands,
shoals, and sand-banks, between this place and
Novgorod. I remarked, with pleasure, the know-
ledge these otherwise ignorant fellows have of the
power of the rudder, performing all the close shades
like a fleet of colliers in the Thames.

At Makarieff I noticed the utmost height to
which the Volga had risen last season, being
eighteen feet perpendicular height, at one hundred
and fifty feet distance from the nearest edge of the
river, which is still going down. Having remain-
ed at anchor two days, and paid toll at a place
called Vasilisomski, which is a sort of sound, where
loaded vessels pay one and a half, and those in
ballast one rouble (no slight sinecure), we depart-
ed with a fresh and favourable gale, passing fleets
of vessels, at anchor and under sail. If the trade
of the place were to be computed from the num-
ber of vessels, without respect to their value, the
Volga would indeed be a second Thames.
2g

78 TCHEBACKSAR.

We soon reached Kusmodemiansk, a large and
populous town, on the right bank of the river, with
four neat churches, pleasantly situated at the base
and extremity of that chain of lofty hills which rise
in succession from Nishney Novgorod, and here
abruptly terminate. The left bank of the river still
preserved its desolate and unhealthy appearance.
The next halting-place was Tchebacksar, where
the river is very shallow, and encumbered with
shifting banks ; and here we were again detained
by foul winds, as well as the negligence or laziness
of the crew, till I began to feel tired of my aqua-
tic excursion, the river offering so very little wor-
thy of notice. I would fain have pursued my route
by land, but was prevented by my bag of copper
money, which, although its value was not a guinea,
was, at least, sixty pounds weight. Leaving it
was, of course, totally out of the question ; I had,
therefore, no remedy but patience.

At Tchebacksar I again laid in a stock of pro-
visions, conformably to agreement. It consisted of
barley, rye, flour, with oil and black bread. I had
hitherto messed with the crew, whose diet was
wholesome, although rather new to me, consisting
of the above flour boiled, and stewed down with
water and oil. He who likes burgoo, must relish
casha ; and it was with extreme pleasure that I re-
ceived the spoon into my hand, in my proper turn,
to partake of this humble fare. This we did three
times a-day, and I had the happy consciousness of
its perfect cleanliness, as I myself stood cook.
Provisions, in general, may be here considered
cheap ; bread, a halfpenny per pound ; beer, a
halfpenny per bottle ; eggs, threepence per dozen ;
and milk, a farthing per bottle. Animal food I
know nothing about, not having bought any.

VUTCHI KAZAN. 79

Passed the village of Vutchi, placed between
two elevated table-hills. A monastery, with four
churches, flanked with a thick forest of evergreens,
gave it a pleasing appearance. A boat came
alongside from the monastery, with a poor-box,
into which I put twopence, no small sum in this
part of the world. Upon reaching the little ham-
let of Kushuga, our crew quitted us, with bag and
baggage, two long-bearded gentlemen taking charge
of the craft to Kazan ; a trifling incident, but which
powerfully reminded me of the necessity of im-
pressment. We were now anxiously looking out
for Kazan, and the distant countries became more
elevated, and well wooded with lofty oaks. Si-
viatski, with its remnant of an old stone castle, was
the last interesting spot I observed before I reach-
ed Kazan. The left bank of the river, except at
the single town of Makarieff, is one universal waste.
From the Volga to the city is about three miles of
a low flat ; and this I walked on Tuesday, the 22d
of June, and the twelfth day from Novgorod, being
about the same time that I should have taken in
going by land.

This celebrated city, on nearing it from the
westward, greatly resembles Badajos on its ap-
proach from Elvas ; — the extended view, the river
in front, the fortress on the left, and the distant
elevated lands to the southward. The dirty sub-
urbs, situated on a marshy swamp, the principal
residence of the Tartar inhabitants, is the next in-
dication of Kazan ; the last was after crossing the
Kazanka, when the noblest part of this noble city
fronts you in full view. I passed on to the hos-
pitable abode of the learned Professor Fuchs.

The extensive province of Kazan is watered by
the noble Volga and beautiful Kama. Its popu-

80 KAZAN.

lation is reckoned at nine hundred thousand, com-
posed of Tartars, Fins, Votiaki, Tchuvoshi, and
Russians, and a few Mordvas, Near five hundred
thousand of these inhabitants are peasants or slaves,
four-fifths of whom belong to the crown, and the
rest to the different nobility of Kazan. The trade
of the province is said to be great, exporting vast
quantities of tanned and untanned leather, besides
about two hundred and fifty thousand poods (361bs.
English) of soap, made from the fat of the Astra-
kan seals. Potash is also a thriving concern.
The gold and silver embroidery of boots, shoes,
slippers, bonnets, &c. employs a great number of
people. The province is low and wet, and to its
acknowledged unhealthiness the impurity of the
water greatly contributes. The greatest heat is
29°, and the greatest cold 33°, of Reaumur's scale.
The Volga is navigable about two hundred days in
the year. The province is in general well culti-
vated, and exports prodigious quantities of corn to
the capitals. The revenue is estimated at sixteen
millions of roubles (or about L.700,000, a rouble
being lOd. of our money) ; and of these spirits
alone furnish four millions, the consumption of
which, in the city only, on a feast day, is said to
amount to the value of five thousand roubles, and
on ordinary days to about fifteen hundred.

The city of Kazan is considered as second only
to the capitals, containing nearly forty thousand
inhabitants, of which twelve thousand are Tartars.
On the present state of the city it is hardly fair to
give an opinion, rising as it is from the ashes of
a fire scarcely five years extinguished. It had
formerly a cathedral on the site of the ancient
mosque, as also a palace ; both were destroyed by
an explosion in the citadel. The destruction of the

KAZAN. 81

city was indeed nearly complete, and it is difficult
to conceive how any vestige could remain, a high
wind driving a mass of flame over houses built,
and streets absolutely paved, with wood. These
wooden buildings and pavements have been dis-
countenanced by the Emperor, who has held out
many inducements to build with brick. The city
is archiepiscopal, and the seat of an university. It
has several handsome churches, four of which be-
long to the Raskolnicks, besides many Tartar
mosques, and some convents. The church of St
Peter and St Paul is a handsome stone edifice, erect-
ed at the expense of a private gentleman in honour
of Peter the Great, in consideration of that mo-
narch's having made his residence a halting-place
during one of his journeys. In Kazan also is a
church, which gave rise to that beautiful building,
the Kazan Church at St Peters burgh, though its
architecture would seem to denote a theatre. I dined
with her eminence the abbess, for so she is styled.
She had the benevolence to present me with an
image of their saint, which was to act as a charm
against otherwise inevitable mischief. I accepted
it, of course, with due reverence, without any strong
faith in its boasted virtues — an estimate which it
will be seen by experience was fully vindicated.
The lady, the original of this image, lives twelve
miles from Kazan, to which, however, she makes
an annual visit, and collects from the bounty of
her believers sufficient to support her the ensuing
year.

I visited the Hotel des Nobles, a club formed of
the nobility, fifteen or twenty of whom daily dine
there, independent of casual travellers, who have
free access upon moderate terms. A friendly sort
of intercourse is thus kept up, and the news of the

82 KAZAN.

day emanates from the club in a manner which the
servile press dares not attempt. Billiards and cards
are the set amusements of the club, it being a cus-
tom of Russian idlers to play boston before and after
dinner. They then retire to business or to sleep,
meeting again in the evening to repeat the entertain-
ment over a cup of tea. Speaking of the word bos-
ton, it is rather a curious circumstance that such an
Anglo-amusement should have become exclusively
the adoption of the empire of Russia ; — under the
wings of the eagle it was brought forth, and there
it is still fostered. Among the numerous indivi-
duals here from whom I received marked attention,
I should specially notice the governor and vice-
governor; the Prince Davidoff, director of the post;
and Prince Tenisheff, general in the army, and
head of a military commission, not forgetting my
friend the professor. Both the princes are of Tartar
origin, though their character and conduct would
do honour to the proudest rank of polished society.
I attended a fete given by the latter prince at his
villa, seventeen versts from the city. If the learn-
ed Dr Clarke had been living and present, he
would have found, in the delicacy and decorum
everywhere prevalent, a strong proof that a Rus-
sian country-house is not now, at least, such as he
has described it.

A Russian prince, count, or baron, descended
from a Russian family, is always a nobleman, with-
out any military, civil, or honorary distinction. But
no person of those ranks, whose origin has been
Tartar, Asiatic, or foreign, has any claim whatever
to nobility beyond the other free individuals of the
empire; the title is indeed hereditary, and descends
in the same wholesale manner as in Germany, but
it gives no rank or privilege whatever. Without

KAZAN. 83

the addition of military or civil rank, title is rather
a disadvantage to the possessor, as the empire ex-
pects from every man of respectability a three
years' service in the army, navy, or civil depart-
ments. After this he may retire with credit ; yet,
so salutary is the effect of this custom, that the re-
tirement of an officer is of extremely rare occur-
rence. In case, however, of any change of incli-
nation, they are permitted, within certain limita-
tions, to vary the nature of their service ; thus, an
officer of the navy may change to the army or civil
department ; an officer of the army to the civil de-
partment, but not to the navy ; but an officer of the
civil service cannot exchange into either army or
navy ; — thus forming a strong inducement to them
to commence at least with the profession of arms.
A prince is not, from that circumstance, a noble-
man, though an officer of whatever rank is ; and by
his becoming a major in the army, or captain in the
navy, he entails upon his children, without limit,
the rank of nobility. The rank of women in Rus-~
sia is fixed, like their condition, for better or worse,
according to that of their husbands. If a woman
not noble marries a slave, she degrades herself to
his condition ; while a woman slave, becoming
united to a freeman, becomes free. But in Russia
every thing is at the disposal of the Emperor ; titles,
privileges, rank, and fortune, are regulated by his
will. And formerly, when it was no uncommon
thing for an Emperor to give the benefit of a Si-
berian air to ministers, counts, and other dignita-
ries of the empire, it was not unusual to accom-
pany the seclusion with the loss of honours, here-
ditary rank, of fortune, and even of the very name.
The latter circumstance never, indeed, took place
but when the person was charged with a crime.

84 PERM.

But this arbitrary exercise of power has certainly
not occurred during the present Emperor's reign,
nor would the exercise of such a prerogative be
tolerated for any length of time.

The governor of Kazan was good enough to
make up a part of my lost time, by giving me a
lift towards Perm ; and on the 25th of June I de-
parted in a kibitka, taking a last view of the city
from Tzaritzino. Crossed the Kama, which enters
the Volga, at forty miles below Kazan. The road
had been very fine, and the country fertile in corn
and flax, the principal productions. The appear-
ance of the crops was good, and the preparations
for the harvest cast a lively and agreeable feature
upon the journey. I overtook great numbers of
men and boys returning to their homes, having
carried vessels down the Kama, and thence into
the Volga. The country on the east side of the
Kama becomes wild and dreary, through forests
of fir, birch, and poplars. The weather was sultry,
and the mosquitoes troublesome; and there was
nothing to delight the eye, or interest the feelings,
except the numerous Tartar villages, which lie
scattered at every five or six miles' distance. Many
of the Viatka race, a handsome people, are in the
neighbourhood. Although I had ceased for the
present to be a pedestrian, I did not, from what-
ever cause, receive so great civility as I had been
accustomed to. The conduct of the postilion to
the poor peasantry, was not such as to induce my
forming a favourable opinion of the Permian execu-
tives. I could not help regretting that the present
mode of forwarding the post affords no security
against fraud, cruelty, and abuse. The moment
these postilions arrive at a station, they fly to the
kabak, or gin-shop, where they loiter away half an

PERM. 85

hour in drinking, &c. When the postilion is ready-
to start, he holds out his hand with the same avi-
dity and mechanical appearance as a lawyer or phy-
sician would do ; generally a rouble, or a couple,
according to the length of the station or number of
horses, is given, to prevent — what ? Why, to pre-
vent the free exercise of their high powers in dri-
ving the horses at so furious a rate, as to endanger
not only the lives of the poor animals, but of the
driver and other persons going with him. The for-
warding of the post being by contract between the
government and the individual, is thus liable to a
most intolerable abuse; of course the owner of the
horses will sooner part with a couple of shillings,
than run the risk of losing one of his horses by be-
ing overdriven, a circumstance which not unfre-
quently happens. At present there is but one fa-
vourable consideration in the post-office depart-
ment ; that is, its extraordinary speed, which I shall
have occasion hereafter to notice.

On the fourth day I entered Perm, thoroughly
fatigued with the jolting of the kibitka, although
the road was very fine, lying invariably through
thick woods, with but two towns, and most unpre-
possessing villages, all the way from Kazan.

Having delivered a letter to the director of the
post, who understood no language but the Russian,
he recommended me to the care and attention of
a Mr Berg, formerly a lieutenant in the Russian
navy, now an author and a rich man — advantages
which seldom accompany each other. His know-
ledge of the English language, as well as his hospi-
tality and urbanity, made his company highly va-
luable. He had made the tour of the world with
Commodore Kruzenstern, and was consequently
able to give me a great deal of useful information.

VOL. I. H

86 PERM.

Perm is the capital of a province, and a consi-
derable city, built by the Empress Catherine at the
time that great princess increased the number of
governments from fourteen to forty-seven; con-
vinced that a due administration of justice could
not take place where the governments are so ex-
tensive. The city stands on the right bank of the
Kama, covered on three sides by a thick forest,
whose trees reach to the very gates of the city. It
is regularly and handsomely built, and contains
about eight thousand inhabitants ; the whole pro-
vince numbers eight hundred thousand, consisting
of Russians, Bashkires, Tcheremiss, Teptery, and
Vaugoles. The Bashkires, a numerous race, are
said to be descendants of the Tartars who inhabit-
ed the district between the Don, the Volga, and
the Ural mountains, and are probably of the same
family with the Tartars of Kazan. They were
originally wanderers, but, since their subjection to
Russia, have applied themselves to agriculture and
the breeding of cattle, especially of horses. These
they have learned to manage with facility, and
even with grace ; and yet, even this has not de-
stroyed that perhaps most savage of their original
habits, the feeding upon their carcasses. Their
character is worse than indifferent, being lazy, and
tyrannical towards their wives, to whose care,
nevertheless, they owe every thing. They are
handsome both in form and features, and are fond
of medals and fanciful ornaments, or dresses. Both
sexes dress nearly alike, in large trowsers, and a
loose gown fastened round the waist with a silk
sash. Their heads are usually shaved, and cover-
ed with a cap decorated with embroidery ; as are
likewise their boots.

There is but one public school in Perm, and

KOUNGOUR. 87

that of small repute, and the state of society and
of education in general is at a low ebb ; yet Perm
is a thriving place, being rich in its provincial ex-
ports, which, from the local situation, must all go
through the capital. The export of iron is said to
equal five millions of poods, which, with six mil-
lions of poods of salt, seventy thousand poods of
copper, seventeen of gold, and two millions and a
half of coined roubles from Ekatherinebourg, form
no bad criterion for estimating the riches of the
government. Perm yields a gross revenue of ten
millions of roubles, which, on a deduction of seven
for its expenses, leaves a net revenue of three mil-
lions, exactly equalling the copper money and gold
collected from the sands of Ekatherinebourg. The
soil is in general good ; corn is both cheap and
abundant, being exported in great quantities. The
face of the country is generally level, till nearing
the Siberian frontiers at the base of the Ural moun-
tains, which separate Europe from Asia. The im-
portance of these mountains seems to be little felt
or understood by the Russian government, though
there can be no doubt of their containing sources
of wealth all but inexhaustible.

I left Perm on the 8th of July, on one of the
finest roads in the world. At three miles I pass-
ed an exceedingly fertile spot, beautifully reflect-
ed from the dark woods, which skirt it even to the
horizon. Before reaching the first station, I had
passed five villages, in a delightful walk, the beauty
of which did not afterwards diminish, while the
Kama seemed to travel by my side. The road is
good as far as Koungour, and the country fertile,
with hills traversing it in all directions. The valleys
are filled with villages, nursed in the bosom of
peace, and fed with the abundance of plenty, of

88 souksoum, demidoff's iron works.

which blessings they are not, from their local situa-
tion, likely to be soon deprivedt

Koungour, formerly the capital of several pro-
vinces, has now little or nothing to boast of be-
sides the beauty of its situation. After dinner I
reached Sabarsk, a village, eighteen miles, where I
put up for the night. It lies in a well-wooded
country, and whose lands are economized and at-
tended to in a manner worthy of the disciples of
Englishmen. Koungour appears to me to be an
elevated level ; for I consider that the grand base
of the Ural mountains commences from Perm.

From Koungour, I reached Souksoum, Demi-
doff's Zavod, viz. iron works, a large, long, and
busy place, on the borders of a lake, where is a
considerable iron manufactory as well as distillery.
The situation is in a deep hollow, surrounded by
thickly clad hills of fir. Unlike the people of Kazan,
I found the inhabitants a churlish race ; but, being
in good health and spirits, I took little heed, simply
showing my passport and open order to the police,
as a hint for proper treatment. The elders of the
villages and I were, however, sure to be good
friends, so long as milk, black bread, and kuass,
with sometimes soup, were to be purchased. To
these were added a glass of cordial at the kabak
or gin-shop, procured gratis by an order from the
farmer-general, and which latter I divided with my
friends.

As I approached the frontiers of Siberia I began
to give way to groundless, though perhaps natural
apprehensions ; and indeed as I neared such a sup-
posed scene of cruelty and misery, I became com-
pletely agitated. Hitherto Providence had pro-
tected me, but although I felt thankful for the
past, I could not but be concerned for the future,

ACHITSKAYA KREPOST. 89

reasonably doubting how, where, and when, my
pilgrimage would end.

Pursuing my route, I reached the sixth station,
charmed with the beauty of the surrounding sce-
nery. And if I might judge of the number of its
inhabitants by the quantity of cultivated land, I
should say it was one of the most populous, as well
as finest, spots I had ever seen. Achitskaya Kre-
post was the next large village, with a good post-
house. Hence the road turns off to the south, to
the summit of a range of hills, which commanded
an extensive prospect of a lovely scene, to which
a slight fall of rain had given increased freshness,
brilliancy and beauty. I passed a large unemploy-
ed distillery, the property of the government, as
indeed are all others on this side of the Ural moun-
tains, the government having monopolized the sale
of spirits throughout the European dominions. If
the mere increase of the public revenue may war-
rant such a measure, there can be no more said ;
but whatever may be the direct benefit to the
treasury, of carrying on business to the amount of
thirty millions of roubles per annum, its mischievous
tendency, in enriching a few individuals at the ex-
pense of as many thousands, is incalculable. By
farming the distilleries, a system of plunder is prac-
tically encouraged, while the losers in the long run
are the poor peasantry, who receive a trash of spirit
far below the proof, it being to my knowledge
doubly and trebly watered ; nor can the retailers
of such stuff get back their money in any other
manner.

The situation of vice-governor thus becomes one

of the greatest value, receiving, in some instances,

half a million of roubles, or upwards of twenty

thousand pounds sterling, a-ycar. Two direct

2h

90 KRASNOUFINSK.

means of a vice-governor's enriching himself are,
the per centage upon every vedro or anker of spi-
rits sold in the province, and a certain sum paid by
the retailers for their licenses. By these alone, a
vice-governor may annually put into his own pock-
et not less than four hundred thousand roubles.
It is the duty of a vice-governor to visit the differ-
ent distilleries and kabaks, or gin-shops, to ascer-
tain whether the spirits be adulterated : having al-
ready received his bribe from the farmer-general of
the province, he of course finds no fault. The lat-
ter of these gentlemen then makes his own visit,
to examine whether the retailers have not still more
adulterated it than was allowed in the first in-
stance ; the affirmative is a matter of course, but,
on a division of the spoils, no fault is found. Last-
ly, comes the secretary or clerk of the farmer-ge-
neral, who finds the spirit still further adulterated,
and who, having in his hands the power of punish-
ment, even to the withdrawing of the license, be-
comes a participator of the last spoils. To make
up these immense subductions, another and an-
other portion of water is added to the spirit, all of
which is valued to the poor peasant as genuine.
The oppression, before heavy enough, is thus dou-
bled upon him, as the weaker the spirit the more
he finds it necessary to consume. This system of
robbery is mainly owing to the palpably inefficient
provision made by the government for officers of
all ranks, who are thus tempted to seek by indirect
means a compensation for their services.

Krasnoufinsk, which I reached next, is situated
in a fertile valley, at the foot of two peaked moun-
tains. It is a scattered and ill-built place, but in
a fine productive country, and from the top of the
mountains commands an extensive view of the

KRASNOUFINSK. 91

river Ufa, meandering from one side of the hori-
zon to the other, hut generally immersed in one
continuous fog. The town is frequently over-
flowed, and thence, doubtless, is considered un-
healthy. The establishment is new, for the old
ostrog, or advanced fortress, is still kept up, to
oppose any possible incursion of their southern
neighbours.

A deputation of the inhabitants waited upon
me, to request I would remain a couple of days,
to be present at a dinner to be given in honour of
the first Englishman who had visited the place. I
felt the compliment nationally, but thought best
to decline it, as perfectly unmerited by the indivi-
dual, independently of my anxiety to get forward ;
and therefore returned to Achitskaya Krepost;
thence to Bisserskaya Krepost, over eighteen miles
of uncultivated country, after which I gently as-
cended a considerable elevation into the bosom of
the Ural mountains, where not a vestige of culti-
vation exists besides young firs and birch. The
air was exceedingly cold on the summit. At noon
I stopped at the last European station, called Kir-
gishantsky Krepost, and at the last European re-
sidence, where I dined. The good people had re-
solved I should not leave this paramount quarter
of the globe with any trace of dissatisfaction, as
young children continually presented me with wild
strawberries and cream ; the strawberries were of
an excellent flavour, and it is the custom of these
poor people to present the traveller with such
fruit during the season. I received the present,
standing with one foot in Asia and the other in
Europe, surrounded on all sides by lofty moun-
tains, covered, however, with nothing but brush-
wood.

92 BELIMBAIEFSKY ZAVOD.

In the evening I reached the first station in
Asia, called Groborskoy, a post-town ; and next
day, with a stout heart, descended the Siberian
part of the Ural chain to Belimbaiefsky Zavod,
or iron-foundery, on the banks of the Tschusova,
where there are many handsome buildings. Early
the ensuing morning I reached Ekatherinebourg,
having passed in safety the mighty barriers which
divide Europe from Asia. The ascent and de-
scent are eo nearly imperceptible, that, were it not
for the precipitous banks everywhere to be seen,
the traveller would hardly suppose he had crossed
a range of hills. As far as this frontier town of
Siberia, I had travelled through one continued
forest of pine-trees, and for twenty miles nothing
met the eye but fire-wood, grown for the use of
the imperial fabrics.

On reaching the Asiatic side of the Ural chain,
I could not help remarking that the inhabitants of
all the villages were much more civil, more hos-
pitable, and more cleanly dressed ; and in no one
instance would they accept of money for the food
I had occasion to procure. I never entered a cot-
tage but 8htshee (a cabbage soup), with meat, milk,
and bread, were immediately placed before me un-
asked ; nor could any entreaty of mine induce
them to receive a higher reward than a pipe of to-
bacco or a glass of vodka (whisky). In short, to
prevent uselessly troubling the inhabitants, I was
obliged to consign my nearly exhausted purse to
the care of my knapsack, renouncing the hackneyed
and unsocial custom of paying for food. Another
remark which attends the traveller on quitting Eu-
rope, is the fact of his leaving the land of oak, not
a vestige of that tree being visible, I believe, in
Asia. The sable is, however, met with, an ani-

EKATHERINEBOURG. 93

mal which is never found to the westward of the
Ural chain of mountains. It is also confidently
asserted, that mice taken from one side to the
other will not survive ; thus, nightingales in De-
vonshire, sables in America, or martins in Asia,
are, I believe, looked for as snow in Equatorial
Africa.

Among other proofs of their civility, or rather
of the interest which Russians take in foreigners,
as well as the means they have of making them-
selves understood, one very strong one occurred
to me in a small village. I had learned so much
of the language as to know that kchorosho is the
Russian word for ivell, but not that kchudo was
the translation for bad. My host being a good
sort of a blunt fellow, was discoursing upon the
impropriety of travelling as I did. As I could not
comprehend him, I was impatient to go ; but he
persisted in detaining me till he had made me un-
derstand the meaning of kchudo. My extreme
stupidity offered a powerful barrier to his design ;
but a smart slap on one cheek and a kiss on the
other, followed by the words kchudo and kchoro-
sho, soon cured my dulness, and I laughed heart-
ily in spite of this mode of instruction.

Ekatherinebourg is the key of Siberia, and hence
a post at which passports are most rigorously ex-
amined. Yet, on making known my intention to
stop at the house of a Mr Major, an Englishman,
and an officer in the College of Mines, I was not
only permitted to pass, but, in Mr Major's ab-
sence, another lodging was procured me. This
was in the dwelling of a Mr Mohr, a low plod-
ding German, of whom there are too many in Eka-
therinebourg. It is a well-built city, founded by
Catherine, near the source of the Izet, containing

94 EKATHERINEBOURG.

fifteen thousand inhabitants. There is a large fa-
bric, belonging to the Emperor, for polishing and
preparing vases, urns, slabs, and the like, as well
as to deposit selections of mineralogy and precious
stones for the formation of cabinets. There are
also numerous large iron and copper founderies in
the neighbourhood of Ekatherinebourg, the latter
of which supply the mint of the city with metal
for coining three millions of copper roubles an-
nually. The coin is badly executed, being chip-
ped and cracked the first moment it is issued, nor
is the metal better ; and no care is taken to select
or recoin any of this wretched money. The cop-
per mines are near three hundred miles distant
from the city ; yet here the metal is worked up
into ingots, heated, barred, cut, rounded, cleaned,
and stamped ; and, lastly, they may be said to
barely pay the salaries of the officers and pea-
sants.

Near the city the river is dammed up, so as to
form a sort of lake for the washing of the sand
which produces the gold ; and close to it is the
department for smelting that costly metal. This
is produced from the gold mines of Berezofsky,
distant twelve miles ; the quantity produced is,
however, small. The moment a fine specimen of
pure gold is discovered, it makes its way into the
cabinet of some private individual, and such spe-
cimens are neither few in number, nor their in-
trinsic value small. It is justified on the usual
ground of the insufficient remuneration of the offi-
cers, and at present may be considered as a fair
and natural means of the support of government ;
for the salaries of officers and men, so far from
having been increased since the days of Peter the
Great and Catherine, have in reality been reduced

EKATHERINEBOURG. 95

three fourths. Then the government paid in sil-
ver roubles (3s. 4d. sterling) ; but now in paper,
the current value of which is 9^d. When the in-
creased value of provisions, and of all other arti-
cles, is considered in proportion with what they
were fifty and one hundred years ago, it is only
fair to put such pilfering to the account of neces-
sity, rather than to that of depravity. Lest in this
part of my narrative I may be misinterpreted, I
think it but candid and just to tell my readers,
that, whatever bribery and corruption exist in the
Russian empire, I do not think they exceed that
of more civilized (as they are termed) countries
Kissing goes by favour in every quarter of the
globe, but I do not think extortion in Russia pro-
ceeds so much from avarice as from necessity ; the
latter has no law nor rule to curb it, and, when
backed by an unfeigned and unlimited hospitality,
surely the crime is sunk in the necessity of the
case. In the midst of an abundance of natural
wealth, it is true the peasant gets but very little
reward for very hard work ; but as all compulsive
labour is reluctantly and badly performed, so that
in cold and dreary mines might be expected to be
of all others performed the worst, and the least
rewarded. Six thousand fine young men are em-
ployed in this occupation from morn till night
through all seasons ; and to sustain, certainly not
to reward this, receive a daily allowance of two
pounds of black bread, with a suit of clothes and
a sum amounting to 13s. 6d. sterling yearly : what-
ever they acquire beyond this must be by disho-
nest means. These six thousand individuals pro-
duce annually from the mines and sands about
seventeen poods of gold, and ten of silver, the
united value of which is certainly under L.30,000

96 BEREZOFSKY.

sterling ; so that the clear annual profit to the go-
vernment of each of these able-bodied men, after
even these insufficient means of livelihood, cannot
exceed 20s. a-head. But for the imperious neces-
sity of procuring a continued coinage, in order to
support the immense circulating medium, it may
be supposed that the Russian government could
not hesitate for a moment to enfranchise these
peasant slaves ; as their contribution to the reve-
nue, in the way of direct taxation, would infinite-
ly exceed the paltry profit accruing from their co-
ercive labour ; — to say nothing of the large pro-
portion which must be deducted for the expenses
of an establishment requiring so great a number of
officers, and probably of costly implements.

At Ekatherinebourg, at the table of the amiable
chief, I met a Mr Roper, an Englishman, employ-
ed in the mines. After dinner we visited the beds
of gold sand. They seemed about six feet deep.
The governor appeared to me too sanguine of the
results, which can never authorize the employment
of such fine young lads in the everlasting washing
of the sands, with their feet constantly in water.

From the gold beds I visited the mines of Be-
rezofsky, the principal working one of which, a
hundred and sixty feet of perpendicular depth, I
descended. My access was, as in other mines, by
the staircase, preferring that mode of descent to
the more usual one in this place, of being let down
by the basket. I saw nothing to remark in the
nature or plan of the employment, though I could
not but regret that the operators were not, as in
South America, criminals, but peasants belonging
to the imperial crown. The produce of the mines
is in the proportion of one guinea's worth of pure
gold for every four thousand pounds weight of

BEREZOFSKY. ' 97

earth. Ninety-six zolotniks are equal to a pound,
and three zolotniks of gold are produced from each
hundred poods of earth ; so that, even allowing
forty pounds sterling for every pound of gold, the
utmost value of every one hundred poods of earth
cannot exceed twenty-five shillings. The sum of
the matter is, that his Imperial Majesty gets five
thousand pounds sterling annually from the em-
ployment of six thousand men, deducting only the
payment of his officers, a diminution which, it will
he allowed, is not great. So small indeed is the
return from the establishment of Ekatherinebourg,
that I did not think it inappropriate to say to one
of the chief officers, who had asked my opinion,
that, were it not for the three millions of copper
roubles which the government gained, the whole
establishment deserved the air of farther Siberia ;
instead of copper, it should produce silver, roubles,
so inexhaustible are the riches of the place.

The magnificent iron establishment belonging to
the Yakovleff family, is much better deserving of
attention. Six thousand peasants are attached to
it, and at present employed in making bar iron for
the fair of Nishney Novgorod, iron plates for co-
vering houses, cast-iron utensils of various kinds,
steam-engines, and immense quantities of cutlery,
not forgetting the iron images for worship, all fi-
nished in a neat and solid manner. The build-
ings appertaining to this establishment are equally
extensive and substantial ; and the situation of the
overseer, who is a peasant, is worth two thousand
pounds per annum ! The villages of the peasantry
are well built, and much liberality is evident in
every part of the concern, which is as profitable as
creditable to the proprietor, whose character stands

vol. I. I

98 BEREZOFSKY.

very high ; affording no small counter proof how
much the imperial works are neglected, while those
of the individual are protected, encouraged, and
industriously persevered in.

I have already said that Ekatherinebourg is a
well-built city. It indeed abounds in public edi-
fices, bazars, and churches, and is regularly laid
out in streets ; but the inhabitants generally, even
those who may be styled opulent, are bondsmen^
either to the government, or to private individuals.
The greatest proportion of these are Raskolnicks,
who some time ago sent one of their own body to
purchase permission to build a church for the free
exercise of their own abominable tenets. The
zealous missionary was also charged with four hun-
dred thousand roubles to make good his way ; but
neither missionary, nor license, nor money, have
been since heard of. This conduct, I should think,
might be expected from such zealous and intole-
rant unitarians of faith ; for whether Greek, Ca-
tholic, Protestant, or Methodist, it is one and the
same thing — he who attempts to interfere with
an established religion is no tolerant but a bigot,
and what are the most civilized part of the com-
munity about ?

Quitting Ekatherinebourg, I directed my steps
towards Tobolsk, gratified that I had already en-
tered Siberia. After ten miles of pleasant walk-
ing I reached the hospitable habitation of Mr Ma-
jor, where I passed a couple of days in an agree-
able manner, with his wife and three daughters,
fine young women, and either of them sufficiently
beautiful to arrest the progress of a Siberian tra-
veller. Having no time to fall in love, I took, at
parting with the ladies, advantage of the Russian
custom, which permitted my kissing their hands,

KAMISHLOFF. 99

while they at the same time honoured me by sa-
luting my cheek.

I reached the second station late in the evening,
and next day, remarking with pleasure the clean-
liness and good-nature of the inhabitants, reached
Kamishloff. Kaminsky, a useless cannon-foundery,
lay in my way. The road is everywhere excel-
lent, over low, swampy, yet well-wooded ground.
Kamishloff is a pretty little town on the banks of
the Pyshma, a river but little used, by reason of
some falls. There are two thousand inhabitants,
enjoying a somewhat nourishing carrying trade. I
received the kindest attentions from the town-ma-
jor (a young militaire, who had been severely
wounded in the Russian or Napoleon campaigns),
and from the inspector-general, who was then go-
ing his rounds. Kamishloff is the last station in
the government of Perm ; a government I felt as
little regret at quitting, as I had fear of entering
upon my return ; it is a place most unfortunately
situated — between Europe and Asia, civilization
and semi-barbarism — in short, between vice and
virtue. To Tumen, the first station, are thirty-six,
and to the second twenty-six, versts — thirty-five
miles in all. The country appeared well cultiva-
ted, upon a soil of black mould. The third sta-
tion of twenty-five, and the fourth of twenty-eight,
versts — another thirty-five miles, I cleared in good
time ; but with a somewhat awkward indication
of ulcers on my feet ; a malady, according to my
system, very easily and cheaply to be remedied in
Siberia. At the last station, a small Tartar vil-
lage, I was regaled with pork, bread, and eggs, at
free cost, no purse being necessary among these
Tartars. I partook of the wholesome fare a la
Tartare, shaking hands first with the host, and re-

100 TUMEN.

ceiving his blessing of " Peace be with you !" then
squatting on my hams like the rest of the compa-
ny. On the third day I reached Tumen, after near
forty miles' walking. The town-major kindly re-
ceived and lodged me in his house.

Tumen is a city of some consideration, and, from
its local situation, enjoys a considerable trade with
the fair of Irbit, as well as to the south-west and
soutVeast of it. Its population is said to consist
of eight thousand, occupied mostly in the prepara-
tion and export of timber, tallow, hides, and em-
broidery. It is situated on the banks of the Toura.
It owes its celebrity to Yermak, who discovered
and conquered the greater part of Siberia. The
environs of the city are fine pastures and corn
lands. With this advantage of soil, added to that
of its being a depot, or chancellary, as it is called,
of the Russian American Company, for the receipt
and transportation of their goods, as well as to en-
list volunteers, it may be said Tumen is a place of
considerable promise. The banks of the Toura
are steep, and the current rapid. The country
round is populous, and more than ordinary indus-
try is everywhere observable.

Having crossed a miserable bridge, I reached
the first station from Tumen, fifteen miles, where
I put up for the night. It was, indeed, a wretch-
ed place ; but I shall remember it, as affording a
specimen of the proficiency I had made in the
Russian language. Upon my arrival I demanded
the name of the place, and was answered, as I had
often been, Malaya Derevenya, which I interpret-
ed little revenue. In the present case such a name
seemed, indeed, peculiarly appropriate, for certain-
ly the place appeared too poor to contribute any
very efficient support to the resources of the em-

TUMEN. 101

pire. The frequency of the reply, however, in-
duced me here to make inquiry, and I discovered
my error, the nature of which, however it abash-
ed me at the time, places me in very respectable
company — no less than that of the justly celebra-
ted and learned Dr Clarke, who was eternally
crossing the river Protok, apparently ignorant that
the Protok means neither more nor less than the
branch of a river.

The second and third stations lay on the banks
of the Toura, running through a highly cultivated
and pleasant country, with immense herds of cattle
scattered in every direction, and the inhabitants
civil, polite, and hospitable in proportion to their
wealth. During the latter part of this walk, I had
followed the custom of the place, the same as that
in Spain, where I have often wandered with the
muleteers, viz. that of sleeping in the open air.
They are, indeed, a set of merry, happy fellows —
hail fellow well met, this way or that, rain or
shine, hot or cold, nothing comes cross while the
beasts can get good fodder, and the moon does not
shine in their eyes. A good fire serves at once to
cook the provisions, drive away the mosquitoes,
or keep off cold.

The following day I reached the fifth station,
thirty-five miles. Here are a few dirty huts in a
low marshy country. I had crossed the Toura by
a miserable ferry; the breadth of the river two
hundred yards, and the rate three or three and
a-half knots per hour. To the eighth station is
still a low country, almost inundated from the late
heavy rains, which have done so much damage,
that the village of Lepofsky has been completely
washed away. With the river Toura constantly
at my side, and the rain almost incessant, I reach-
i2

102 TOBOLSK.

ed the tenth station ; and thence to Tobolsk, where
I arrived, half drowned and famished, at three in
the afternoon. I had encountered considerable
difficulty in crossing the Irtish, in consequence of
the rapidity of the fresh. The view of the city
and ancient fortress, on arriving from the west-
ward, is very fine, standing on a considerable emi-
nence which overhangs the river and lower city.

Upon my arrival, I searched out the abode of
Mr Rosing, son-in-law to the governor, and bro-
ther-in-law to my late kind host, Mr Berg, of
Perm. The family were all at the governor's, but
receiving a note from me, they kindly invited me
to dinner ; my situation, however, rendered this
impossible, as I was all but naked. My second
apology brought the host himself, who ordered me
every accommodation I needed. In the evening,
the whole party visited me from the governor's,
observing with much kindness on the delay of my
visit, and adding the proverb of Mahomet and the
mountain. I gave myself up to the enjoyment of
this delightful company, and of my pipe and a glass
of punch, and could have fancied myself anywhere
rather than at Tobolsk.

Formerly this was the capital of all Siberia, af-
terwards of a province, but now of western Sibe-
ria ; a governor-general residing in it, whose juris-
diction comprises that of Tomsk and Omsk, while
Irkutsk has also a governor-general, who rules
Irkutsk, Yenisseisk, Yakutsk, Okhotsk, and Kamt-
chatka. Tobolsk is a large and ancient city, at
the junction of the Tobol and Irtish, two noble
streams, which, falling into the Ob, assume its
name, and are, with it, ultimately lost in the Frozen
Ocean. The inhabitants are estimated at twenty
thousand, composed of Russians, Tartars, and Bu-

TOBOLSK. 103

charians. A considerable trade is still carried on
with China, and Tobolsk may be said to supply
all Central and Western Siberia. It has, however,
lost much by the change of route, which formerly
led through the city ; by which change the cara-
vans have disused it as a halting-place on their
way to farther Siberia, and on their return, the
straight road being from Tumen to Tara.

Tobolsk is the see of an archbishop, who has
jurisdiction over all Siberia. It has many hand-
some churches, but (fortunately) no convents ; the
streets are paved with wood, and in general the
buildings are of the same material. The markets
and bazars are well regulated, and the town in
general is very clean. The residences of the arch-
bishop, governor-general, and principal officers, as
well as the barracks, arsenal, and all public offices,
are in the upper part of the city. The position is
a most commanding one, a matter of no slight con-
sideration in those times, when convicts were kept
in the lower town. Numerous large flocks of cat-
tle are seen in the neighbourhood of Tobolsk :
provisions are cheap and abundant ; bread thirty-
six pounds for a shilling, and the same quantity
of meat for three ; and hospitality eminently pro-
verbial. But what is, perhaps, more remarkable,
very good society is to be enjoyed here, and the
strongest features of content are displayed in this
hitherto supposed metropolis of barbarism and
cruelty.

The truth is, that Tobolsk is not a place where
convicts or malefactors are allowed to remain, but
people who are exiled from political causes only ;
the principal part of whom are officers, who have
still the privilege of appearing in public, without
the loss ©f either rank, fortune, or even character.

104. TOBOLSK.

The governor has it in his power to hefriend any
individual, himself becoming responsible for his ap-
pearance when necessary ; and as no government
transports or banishes fools, Tobolsk may very
well be, from this circumstance, a highly civilized
and eligible place of residence. Malefactors and
bad subjects are sent to Tomsk and Nertchinsk.

I visited the celebrated fortress built by Yermak,
the discoverer and conqueror of Siberia. Several
old swords, muskets, and the like, are deposited
here, which for size and weight might vie with
the more famous sword in Dumbarton Castle. I
also attended an examination at the public military
and the provincial schools on the Lancasterian
system. The children seemed to have made con-
siderable proficiency in the first rudiments ; the
schools, however, are yet in their infancy, though
nearly one thousand boys attend. It was, indeed,
gratifying to a patriotic heart, to see the institu-
tions of Old England adopted in the heart of Si-
beria— an adoption equally honourable to us and
creditable to Alexander.

The view of the surrounding country from the
residence of the governor is really sublime, pre-
serving still its ancient wild magnificence. In
front are the noble Irtish and Tobol, joining their
waters from the east and south, and continuing
their united course through the black and impe-
netrable forests, till lost on the verge of the horizon.
The numerous pasture lands on the opposite bank
of the river, with here and there a smoking chim-
ney, enliven the scene, and render the place, with
all its suiTounding but distant deserts, a really en-
viable retreat. Immediately under the eye is the
river and lower town, with its regularly intersect-
ing streets ; all these afford ocular demonstration

TOBOLSK. 105

that Tobolsk is far from being a dull place ; yet,
even in summer, the situation is very cold and
bleak, being in the latitude of near 59°, and the
thermometer, during winter, at times falling as low
as 40<> and 42° of Reaumur ; while, on the other
hand, it is not always free from the opposite un-
pleasantness of extreme heat.

The climate of the province, generally speaking,
is inhospitable, no part but the southern producing
grain. The soil is chiefly marl and chalk, except
to the north, which is covered with immense tracts
of sand. The wood is for the most part stunted
in its growth, and such is the poverty of this pro-
vince, which contains more than a million of souls,
that the government receives from it but three
millions of roubles net revenue, or one hundred
and fifty thousand pounds sterling. Its extent is
immense, being from the latitude of 50° to the
Frozen Sea, and near one thousand miles in width.
The northern districts are inhabited by Samoiedes
and Ostiaks, a wild, barbarous race, who live by
fishing and hunting, enduring all the rigours of
winter, sometimes even without fuel. Fishing is
also an active pursuit at Tobolsk, near two thou-
sand people being employed upon the Irtish and
Tobol. The practice is to ascend the streams be-
fore the winter commences, catching and drying
the fish as they go, and returning to the city with
the breaking up of the ice. This employment, be-
sides providing for the maintenance of those en-
gaged in it, yields a very remunerating profit. The
embroidery of muslins is also brought to consider-
able perfection at Tobolsk, introduced originally
by the daughters of exiled officers, who had felt
the deprivation of their former means of subsist-
ence ; and it is now the prevailing fashion among

106 TOBOLSK.

the ladies. The poorer classes, however, are in-
dolent, and will seldom work beyond what is im-
mediately necessary for the procurement of food ;
and this may in part account for their suffering
some of the richest and most beautiful lands in the
world, on the banks of the Irtish,' and towards the
Chinese frontiers, to lie waste, while they prefer
the deserts and forests of the north. To this in-
ducement, however, must be added that of obsti-
nacy and false pride, and, perhaps, some portion
of laudable attachment to their native city, which
is termed the grand and ancient capital of all Si-
beria, and which has been the scene of achieve-
ments, equal, if not superior, to those of Cortez.

[ 107 ]

CHAPTER V.

Brief History of Western Siberia and of its conqueror
Yermak — Imalak — Ingeary — Kaminski — Kamisart —
Ishim — Tusnabolova — Toukalinsk — Omsk — The Kir-
guise — Calmucks — Jeliezinskaya — Yamishersk — Poya-
noyarsk — Ubinsk — Uvarova — Alexandrofsk — Bouk-
tourma — Krasnojarsk — Maloi Narymsk — Chinese Fron-
tier— Thelrtish— Ustkamenegorsk — Ismayelova— Neigh-
bourhood of the Kolyvan — Kalmanka — Barnaoule —
Tomsk — Kioff — Krasnochinsky — Bagota — Atchinsk —
Krasnojaisk — Kansko — Ingashe — Nishney Udinsk — Ir-
kutsk.

The early history of this part of the world is in-
volved in much obscurity, little being known of it
prior to the beginning of the sixteenth century,
when the celebrated Yermak became at once the
discoverer and conqueror of Western Siberia. He
had originally been the leader of a numerous and
well-organized banditti, who committed great and
distressful ravages on the rivers Don and Volga,
but which were put an end to after the victories of
Ivan Basilovitch over the Tartars of Kazan and
Astrakan, when he devoted his attention to the
peaceable establishment of his dominions. Yer-
mak was thus compelled to fly, and sought refuge
in the north, on the banks of the Kama, where the
family of Strogonoff had a factory for the purpose

106 BRIEF HISTORY OF

of barter with the Siberians. The conduct of our
hero proved so unlike that of a freebooter, that
Strogonoff, during the winter of 1577, provided
him with necessaries to subsist his men, and with
arms and ammunition to make an incursion upon
the Siberians.

The first campaign was in the summer of 1578.
Yermak had from six to seven tbousand men with
him ; but, through his ignorance of the route and
want of guides, winter closed in upon him almost
before the commencement of the campaign. His
route lay along the Kama to the entrance of the
river Silvar, where he passed the winter in a small
town still named after him.

In the spring of 1579, Yermak returned to
StrogonofFs establishment, where he received a
fresh supply of arms, including a set of colours
ornamented with images after the Russian custom.
In the summer he resumed his operations, availing
himself of the little rivers Tchsusovaya and Sere-
branka ; the latter of which brought him to the
point whence it was necessary to proceed by land.
He was soon, however, again obliged to winter in
what is termed a krepost, or wooden fortress ; his
forces, meantime, were fast diminishing by sickness
and constant skirmishes.

In 1580 he continued his progress along the
little rivers Barancha and Jouraslik, where his
forces were reduced to one thousand six hundred
and fifty men. With these he sailed down the
Tagili, and reached the town now called Tou-
rinsk, and there defeated the Tartar prince
Epantchy. On the 1st of August he reached
Tsaugy, now Tumen, on the banks of the Toura,
of which he took possession, and fixed his winter
quarters, with only one thousand five hundred fol-

WESTERN SIBERIA. 109

lowers, but inured to hardships, accustomed to vic-
tory, and putting implicit faith in their leader.

The spring of 1581 was marked by two victories
over the Tartar prince Mahomed Koul. Yermak
then marched along the Tobol till he reached the
Irtish, the centre of Koutchom Khan's dominions.
His forces were now reduced to five hundred men ;
yet with these he resolved to conquer or to die.
On the 23d October a bloody conflict took place
between the armies, when Koutchom Khan and the
Prince Meneik Koul were entirely defeated, and
narrowly escaped being made prisoners. The
scene of action was at the junction of the Tobol
and the Irtish, the site of the present city of To-
bolsk. Yermak instantly directed his march against
Sibir, the capital of the Tartars, distant twelve
miles ; and on the 26th October entered it in tri-
umph, received the oath of allegiance of his new
subjects, and, from the head of a banditti, became
a sovereign prince. The situation of Yermak was,
however, by no means enviable. He resolved,
therefore, to make a tender of his conquests and
further services to the Tzar. Accordingly, on the
22d December, he dispatched his confident, the
Ataman Klotsoff, to Moscow, with the news and
message. Klotsoff was received with every de-
monstration of joy ; and special marks of royal fa-
vour were conferred upon the hero and his com-
panions, together with a general pardon for past
offences. Yermak himself was honoured with two
rich coats of armour, a silver cup, and a fur cloak
which the Tzar himself had worn ; the last being
then considered the greatest mark of distinction in
Russia.

Yermak, meanwhile, was not idle. Leaving a
part of hia small force to garrison and protect Sibir,

vol. I. K 4

110 BRIEF HISTORY OF

which seems to have given name to all the Asiatic
part of the Russian empire, he, with the assistance
of his favourite, Briazga, extended his conquests
to the countries of the Ostiaks and Vogouls, near
to Samaroff and Tabarinsk.

In the sequel, Yermak undertook an expedition
for the purpose of subjugating the sun-ounding ter-
ritories, and annihilating the remainder of the
Khan's followers. Attended by three hundred
Cossacks of the Don, he reached the settlement
called Ambashou; but here he received information
which induced him to retrace his steps towards the
new capital. He reached in safety a canal which
had been cut by his directions as a species of de-
fence, as well as for the shortening of the commu-
nication ; and here he passed the last night of his
extraordinary career.

The inclemency of the weather, the fatigues they
had undergone, and the apparent security of the
situation, all operated to plunge the party in pro-
found sleep ; even the guard was overcome : when
Koutchom Khan, who had, cautiously and unob-
served, followed and watched his enemy, fell upon
them sword in hand. Never was a scene of great-
er tumult, or a night victory more complete than
that gained by the Tartars ; and Yermak's whole
party, with the exception of himself and one man,
were cut to pieces. Finding all lost, Yermak fled
to the river, and, in attempting to jump into a boat,
fell into the water and was drowned ; the weight
of his armour preventing his swimming. Thus
perished, after seven years of constant warfare, this
enterprising and valuable leader, in the night be-
tween the 5th and 6th of August, 1584. Accord-
ing to tradition, his body was afterwards found and
buried near the promontory of Bagieshefsk, under

WESTERN SIBERIA. Ill

a large fir-tree, not far from the Irtish, near which
a cross is erected.

For a while the Russian empire in Siberia was
at an end, as the remains of a small band, which
had been left as a garrison at Sibir, together Avith
the single individual who had survived the late
conflict, and told the mournful tale, evacuated the
fortress, and returned to Russia. The court of
Muscovy were not long, however, before they re-
newed their designs upon the conquest of Siberia.
The intestine commotions and divisions of the Tar-
tar princes, who were asserting their relative inde-
pendence, offered the best prospects of success ;
and many of the Tartars were pleased with the
conduct of the Russians, and perfectly disposed to
join them against Koutchom Khan, who was dis-
liked for his intolerant zeal in propagating the Ma-
homedan faith. A body of three hundred Russians
accordingly penetrated to the Toura without oppo-
sition, built the fort of the Tumen, and there wait-
ed for reinforcements. The subjugation of Tobolsk
and Tara followed ; and fortresses were there also
established. In the short space of a century, the
whole of Siberia, from Europe to the Eastern
Ocean, and from the Frozen Sea to the Chinese
frontiers, was annexed to the Russian empire.
New towns were built, colonies were planted, and
settlements established in the most distant parts.
Those tribes of Tartars who were not readily re-
ducible to obedience, were at once exterminated ;
and something like the same merciless cruelty
which characterised the Spaniards in South Ame-
rica, was practised in Siberia. Much more would
have been done, and the Russians would no doubt
have had possession of all Mongolia, had not the
jealousy of the Chinese interfered.

112 TOBOLSK.

The Russians had extended their thirst for do-
minion along the banks of the Amour, and were
continuing their subjugation of the Tungousian
tribes, when they encountered the Chinese, who
were drawn thither by the same object. From
jealousy of each other's conquests, these two great
powers became involved in a war about the year
1680, and the fortresses on the Amour became al-
ternately the property of each, as the chances of
war dictated. At length, however, the Chinese
power prevailed, and, at a peace in 1689, the Rus-
sians ceded a considerable territory, together with
the navigation of the Amour. The value of this
river, at that time unknown, has been fully seen
since the discovery of Kamtchatka and its ad-
jacent islands, as well as the proximity of conti-
nental America, and the archipelago of islands be-
tween. This ceded territory, and other valuable
points, Russia has never since been able to regain,
as, with little exception, the two countries have
remained at peace ; and thus closes the history of
Siberia, till the discovery and conquest of the pe-
ninsula of Kamtchatka, which took place in the
early part of the eighteenth century.

The above history is in the main a translation
of a biographical notice, attached to the profile of
Yermak, on a large map, which was presented to
me by my excellent friend the governor of Tobolsk.
A part of it is also to be found in Coxe's account
of Russian Discoveries.

To return to my journey, for which I had been
preparing during the three days I was in Tobolsk,
by getting a new leathern water-proof knapsack,
and deliberating the route to be pursued. I felt
anxious to get on as fast as possible, but yet so as
not to miss meeting the governor-general, who, I

IMALAK. 113

was informed, was on his way to Tobolsk, but not
by the direct road, his excellency taking Kolyvan
and Omsk in his way. It was therefore determi-
ned that I should go first to Omsk, and follow the
Irtish as far as the Chinese frontiers ; and thence,
to return by the same river, and proceed to the
mines of Kolyvan, where it was to be hoped I
might arrive in time to meet Mr Speranski, the
governor-general. In furtherance of my design,
the governor supplied me with a Cossack, and an
order for horses, if 1 should deem them necessary,
as well as an open order for all assistance to be
rendered me, not only in his government, but as
far as the capital of the next ; his power being un-
derstood to extend from capital to capital.

I bade adieu to Tobolsk, with a grateful remem-
brance of the kindness I had experienced ; and, in
company with my young Cossack, pursued the
road to Omsk. It is not a good one. The coun-
try residences of the governor and archbishop were
on the right, as also a large monastery, which I
had visited three days before on the occasion of a
fete ; but the country generally possesses very little
of interest. At twelve miles I passed a second,
monastery, romantically situated, and upon the
road to it, many hundreds of people coming from
their annual visit to the Virgin, to whom it is de-
dicated; her ladyship having, during the week,
presented herself at Tobolsk to receive her rents.
At sixteen miles I reached the village of Imalak,
overhanging the Irtish, which, dividing, forms an
island, and in such a manner as to present a double
serpentine view. The extent of territory seen
from the elevated banks is astonishing and beauti-
ful

I descended the mountain by a steep and dan-
k 2

114 INGEARY — KAMENSKI.

gerous road, then ferried over the Irtish, passing
through a large Tartar village, situated in a fine
pasture, with some rye corn, and reached the se-
cond station on the lofty bank of the Irtish. I
found the cottages neat and clean, and the inhabi-
tants comfortable, hospitable, and contented ; with-
out hope or expectation of reward for their hospi-
tality to me. Thence to Berezofska the country
appears more cultivated and pleasing, with a good
deal of fine wood in the valleys. Thence to the
Tartar village of Ingeary, on the banks of the Va-
gay, when I entered a considerable tract of their
lands, near seventy miles in extent, but without a
single Russian inhabitant. These Tartars are of
the Bashkire race. I could not help observing the
perfect cleanliness af their houses, the civility of
the people, and the good economy of their lands*
I slept most contentedly in these dwellings ; feed-
ing upon milk and cakes, but seldom tasted ani-
mal food.

The dress of the Tartar women is light, if not
neat ; being merely a plain white shift, with a sash
round the waist to support the bosom ; besides this
they have not a vestige of apparel, except the
handkerchief on the head. The young girls had
the hair plaited and hanging down like the Biscay
girls, or brought up under the left arm, and fasten-
ed to the fore part of the shift by a riband. Such
is the simple summer dress ; the winter, or gala
one, is, however, more tawdry. Their features
appear delicate, but their limbs are strong, and
their complexion very dark.

At Kamenski I quitted the great Siberian road,
not far from Tara, passing several neat Tartar vil-
lages, whose white plastered chimneys and oven*
reminded me a little of those in my own country.

ARAMASHANSKY ISHIM. 115

The furniture consists of a few earthenware uten-
sils, and a set of tea-things ; one half of the room
is elevated above the other about fourteen inches,
and that half serves them alike for sitting, sleeping,
and store-room. They are particular in having
clean bedding, and many pillows; the latter of
which are always presented to a stranger to raise
soften his seat, as they have neither chairs nor
stools. A Tartar dwelling has always, if possible,
attached to it the convenience of a vegetable gar-
den. The women, I observed, never presume to eat
or drink till their better or worse half has finished,
and then but seldom while in their presence.

Reached Aramashansky, near the Vagay, which
winds its waters through many fertile spots. At
Kamisart I met much incivility, not being permitted
to pass the night in it without having recourse to
severe measures ; to avoid which I preferred con-
tinuing my journey in the rain. This part of the
country appeals well cultivated, and better peo-
pled ; nor is it void of interest,— for the account of
its scenery, described in the well-known tale of
" Elizabeth, or the Exiles of Siberia," is, on this
point, very correct. Crossed the little river Ca-
rasal to Besroucouva, a fine level pasture plain,
feeding immense quantities of cattle ; thence to
Ishim, which I reached, at four in the evening, in
a torrent of rain, much fatigued, and my Cossack
more so ; he was, in fact, perfectly useless.

Ishim, so celebrated in the tale before alluded
to, is a miserable town, on the stream of its own
name, deserving remark here only for the incivility
of the inhabitants, who, with the commissary and
the doctor, were all noisily intoxicated. Of course,
I could get no attention paid me, either as to
lodging or food ; and, though the rain fell in tor-

116 BOROVAYA TOUKALINSK.

rents, I and my Cossack were obliged to pass the
night in the market-place.

Next morning we reached a neat village called
Borovaya, where I was hospitably entertained by
the elder of the village, who also furnished me
with horses to Tusnobolova (twenty miles), where
the long-bearded guard searched my baggage ; alas!
it contained little ; and for once I felt ashamed at
the examination. They did their duty in a civil
manner, but I was much puzzled to think what
they could be in expectation of finding. The
country is open, and laboriously cultivated, and
the neighbourhood populous. Much fine wood,
and some Ashless lakes, are also to be seen. I
overtook a party of unfortunates exiled for misde-
meanours, and compelled to live in this district,
which is hence the general rendezvous of pick-
pockets, &c. At the next village I happened to
be quartered at the house of a newly-married
couple ; and I confess I regretted the law which
compelled them to quit their bed and room for me.
To this sacrifice, however, they submitted in the
most cheerful manner, treating me with bread,
milk, and eggs, and indeed whatever the house
could furnish. Through a succession of happy
villages I reached Toukalinsk, over an uninterest-
ing level of pasture land. The wretched external
appearance of the cottages is more than counter-
balanced by the neatness within; and if half a
dozen healthy and beautiful children be any indi-
cation of content, then are the inhabitants of this
district most happy. The price of bread is one
shilling, and of meat three, for forty pounds. The
road is, in general, very good.

At Toukalinsk I had the misfortune to lose
what was to me my all— my passport, papers, and

OMSK. 117

every protection in Siberia. In vain I addressed
the commissary; in vain I offered a guinea for
their recovery ; in vain I pointed out the rogue
who had taken them in the tin case from the seat
while I was at dinner. I begged, entreated, in-
sisted, threatened, abused ; all was to no purpose ;
and I was finally constrained to go without them.
By this terrible disaster I was entirely deprived of
all testimony of myself, my connexions, or the
object of my journey, and lay at the mercy of any
one who might choose to provide me with large
but cheap lodgings.

My now melancholy route towards Omsk was
over a similar pasture plain as far as the eye could
reach, with scarcely the appearance of a shrub. At
Soukofski the drunken postmaster would have
made me like himself, but in such rainy and dreary
weather I preferred tea. I next crossed over to a
little village called Krasnoyarsk, on a stream which
unites with the Irtish, now again visible, after an
absence of two hundred miles. I at last got view
of the fortress of Omsk, and, having reached the
Irtish, passed from a most dreary into a highly fer-
tile corn country, and, finally, in a ferry over the
Om, I entered the city by a neat bridge, at five in
the evening.

On my arrival, I of course presented myself to
the ispravnick, or head commissary, and made
known my loss in as good language as I could.
I failed in making him understand me, but he
humanely gave me good lodgings until he could
procure the presence of one of the military officers
to act as interpreter. This was done the next
day. In the meantime, I addressed a letter to
the governor-general and governor of Tobolsk, re-
questing an attested copy of the documents I had

118 OMSK.

lost, and which I had taken the precaution to have
made there. The police-master invited me to
dine with him, though he confessed he could not
understand either my object or character. He
was, however, soon satisfied by the arrival of an
express with my passports, &c. all complete. Thus
was I, from a state of suspicion and surveillance,
again restored to society. I should be very un-
grateful, were I not to do justice here to the con-
duct of the commissary, who kindly went eighty
miles, upon my account, to enforce the return of
the papers, which, being in a tin case, induced the
party to suspect money was there. All that I had
was, however, in my knapsack, and that did not
amount to five pounds. I dined the second day
with the chiefs of the district, when a committee
of the merchants attended to request my accept-
ance of a commercial commission to the Kirguise
and Calmuck's country, being given to understand
I could speak those languages, from having for-
merly traded with them. Here, then, was a cap-
tain of the British navy, in the heart of Siberia,
converted into a Tartar trader. I humoured the
joke, and demanded the per-centage. They made
their offer, and my demand exceeding it by from
twenty to thirty per cent, I was of course not em-
ployed. In the evening, I received a polite invi-
tation from Baron Klotte, the general then com-
manding the military corps of Siberia. It is pro-
per to observe, that the worthy baron honoured me
with this compliment before I had recovered my
papers, and solely with the view of benefiting and
protecting a stranger. Peace to his manes ! he is
numbered with the dead, leaving a wife and very
large family, with slender means to maintain exist-
ence. I passed in the garrison three pleasant days,

OMSK. 119

conversing in the French language, which I found
hoth ladies and gentlemen understood well. Feasts
and fetes were given to me by the first individuals,
all of whom vied in exemplifying to me the bound-
less hospitality and friendship of their nation.

Omsk is placed at the junction of the Irtish and
Om. Previous to the invention of cannon, it was,
no doubt, a strong place, and even at present, con-
sidering the means of those by whom alone it can
be attacked, may be deemed impregnable. It has
a garrison of four thousand men, with a flying ar-
tillery of forty pieces. It may be divided into
fortress, town, and suburbs. The first is the most
considerable, and is in fact a neat place ; the build-
ings, barracks, &c. being constructed generally of
brick, and surrounded by a good ditch and mud
wall, which will ere long have cannon mounted
upon it. The military college is a noble found-
ation upon the Lancasterian system, and was esta-
blished immediately on his Imperial Majesty's re-
turn from his visit to England. Wonderful profi-
ciency has been attained by several of its pupils,
now young men, and the general improvement re-
flects credit on all concerned in its management.
The youth are instructed, besides reading, writing,
and arithmetic, in drawing, mathematics, fortifica-
tion, and algebra, and in some of the Oriental lan-
guages. The barracks for the boys, their food,
clothing, bedding, &c, are in excellent order ; and
every praise is due to the attention and benevo-
lence of the commandant, Colonel IvanofF, who is
considered by them as a father. They are com-
posed of the children of the military forming the
army of Siberia. The school for the children of
the Cossacks is on a similarly benevolent plan, al-
though not quite so forward, from the want of

120 OMSK.

good masters. The town and suburbs have some
neat buildings, but are not otherwise remarkable.
The united population is seven thousand five hun-
dred.

Omsk was one of the strong places of the Tar-
tars, and successfully withstood the attacks of the
great Yermak. The country round is fertile as to
its soil, though not extensively cultivated ; it is one
vast plain, as level as a floor. The fortress is north,
and the town south, of the Om, but both are east
of the Irtish. Opposite is the territory of the wan-
dering Kirguise, presenting no appearance of cul-
tivation or dwellings. A considerable trade is car-
ried on with them, as also with the Calmucks to
the south, which consists in the barter of cattle,
&c. for tobacco and spirits. Several children of
each of these tribes are to be seen in Omsk, who
are slaves, having been sold by their parents for a
pound of tobacco or a glass of spirits. They are,
however, in this degraded condition, better off than
when wandering the inhospitable deserts.

The Kirguise are divided into three hordes, all
more or less tributary to Russia, although they
have khans of their own. They are all wanderers
over the countries between Omsk and the Caspian
Sea. Their occupation consists in hunting, fishing,
and breeding cattle, and of the latter they have im-
mense droves in this vicinity. They are not con-
sidered nice in the mode of acquiring them, and
have even been accused of kidnapping and selling
Christians ; an accusation not improbable from the
example set them. They continue only so long in
a place as there is forage for their beasts, getting,
in winter, as near the woods as possible for the ad-
vantage of fuel, though, in most parts, the dried
dung of their cattle provides a ready and efficient

THE CALMUCKS. 121

substitute. I saw one of their chiefs, a good-look-
ing: fellow, but very filthy ; and indeed they are in
general the most miserable and filthy race I ever
beheld, scarcely, during the warm weather, afford-
ing themselves a pair of trowsers for mere decency.
One large iron kettle, with wooden spoons, consti-
tutes the furniture of their more wretched tent.
They are, however, excellent horsemen, and are
supposed to be descended from the Mongoles and
Tartars. Their language is peculiar to themselves.

The Calmucks, who, like them, make no scruple
to dispose of their children upon any momentary
distress or want of spirits, are yet a different race,
both with respect to features and origin. They are,
however, their equals in idleness and filth, and fol-
low the same vagabond way of life. The Cal-
mucks are, notwithstanding, the direct descendants
of the Mongoles, who emigrated hither after the
destruction of their empire. Very few are subject
to Russia, a great part of them living in Chinese
Mongolia, while the rest of them, under the pro-
tection of Russia, roam about the countries situated
between the Don and Volga and the Ural moun-
tains. Their features will for ever mark them in
whatever part of the world ; the flat face, small and
elongated eyes, broad nose, high cheek bones, thick
lips, and brownish-yellow complexion, are sure
signs of their Mongolian descent. They are obli-
ging, but inquisitive and dishonest; yet, with a little
Russian education and discipline, they make good
servants. I ate and drank with them, as also with
the Kirguise, upon roasted meat, without bread, or
any thing else, save a glass of spirits and a pipe of
tobacco.

Thus much of the two people whom I shall meet
upon my next journey along the Irtish. I depart-

VOL. i. l

122 JELIEZINSKAYA.

ed with a military Cossack, and a protection from
Baron Klotte, addressed to all the general, field,
and suhaltern officers of the army of Siberia, ac-
companied with a discretionary power to call out
horses. I reached the second station, twenty miles,
and halted for the night ; the third station, Achin-
skaye, is a large village, with a ditch and redoubt,
for defence against bows and arrows. The neigh-
bourhood of the fourth station abounds in horses,
bullocks, sheep, and camels. I reached the twelfth,
one hundred and fifty miles from Omsk, without
any thing of interest. It is called Jeliezinskaya
fortress, having a commandant, and garrison of two
hundred and fifty men, and twelve pieces of flying
artillery, to defend it. It is a neat little town, sur-
rounded by a mud wall and ditch, with a ponder-
ous gateway, which gives it a martial appearance ;
nor is the situation void of interest, although placed
upon a desolate tract,

Where wilds, immeasurably spread,
Seem lengthening as I go.

The distant parts of the Kirguise lands boast
some eminences, and a considerable quantity of
wood ; the road is good, and living cheap, fish par-
ticularly being very abundant. The road still lies
along the right bank of the Irtish, and the several
villages are purely military, to keep up the commu-
nication between the frontier fortresses and Omsk ;
a non-commissioned officer and twelve or twenty
men residing in each. Their dwellings are good,
and excellent vegetables are produced in the gar-
dens ; a great advantage over the fort of Omsk,
where the soldiers have either too much work, or
are too idle, to attend to the production of veget*

JELIEZINSKAYA. 123

ables, notwithstanding they are greatly needed as
an anti-scorbntic, great ravages being made by that
disorder among the soldiers, who at present subsist
entirely on dried meat, bread, and brandy.

I dined with the commandant, a German, and
resumed my journey, amongst a number of Kir-
guise tents, and immense herds of cattle. One of
these wanderers I induced to sing ; but, though the
air was musical enough, its words, as I understood,
and the accompanying actions, as I could perceive,
were much too obscene. At the fourth station, I
was favoured with a drive by a young lass of seven-
teen ; and, if she manages her husband as well as
she did the horses and the whip, I should scarcely
«nvy him his fortune ; though, indeed, she was a
personable girl, and had secured my gratitude by
officiating as postilion. The fifth station is marked
by much corn-land. I dined with two of the Kir-
guise chiefs, who had come to take account of their
property. Their appearance was handsome and
manly ; a long robe of blue cloth, beautifully em-
broidered, and fastened round the waist by a high-
ly-polished silver belt, from which was suspended
a dagger, a knife, a pipe, and what in England
might be termed a tinder-box ; a shirt of coloured
cotton, large Tartar trowsers, and boots to corre-
spond ; a handsome fur cap, with a small black one
under it to cover the clean-shaved head ; a long
beard, and bare neck. Their horses were well ac-
coutred, and managed by a long whip, which serves
also in the driving of the cattle. They were alto-
gether superior-looking young men, of about twen-
ty-five.

At the eighth station, the eye is somewhat re-
lieved from the sameness of the scene, a good deal
of wood and pasture land, with many of the Kir-

124 YAMHISHERSK.

guise yourtes and fires, appearing on the opposite
side of the river ; an abundance of com upon this.
At the twelfth station several islands in the river,
and many fishing-boats, are added to the scene.
The youth of both sexes are extremely beautiful,
and present the liveliest picture of health ; both go
unclothed till the age of twelve, with the exception
only of a clean white shift, fastened tight round
under the breast.

I reached Yamhishersk, one hundred and sixty
miles from the last fortress, which it greatly resem-
bles, although its garrison is larger, being seven
hundred and fifty strong. The barracks and of-
ficers' quarters, as well as the storehouses, &c, are
well built, and kept in good order. The present
commandant, a sensible and civil German, supplied
me with a bottle of rum, a pound of tobacco, and
some bread. I met here also a young Prussian,
who was a resident of Moscow when that city was
burnt by the French. From that disaster a ruined
man, he entered the army, and now presented him-
self to me as interpreter of various languages,
though, of the six he professed, I believe he under-
stood no other than Russ. His good-nature, how-
ever, and general obligingness to me, made him an
acceptable companion.

To the next fortress is a distance of one hun-
dred and eighty miles, which I commenced next
morning, alternately walking and riding as circum*
stances offered. At fifty miles there are many
long, but not very high, hills, and the country is
sufficiently picturesque to employ the genius of a
painter. The distant horizon to the north showed
the Irtish flowing in a direct course. Nearer hand
it meanders beautifully, serpentizing through the
pasture grounds, to which some natural hedges

GLOUKHOF SEMIPALATINSK. 125

gave the most interesting appearance. A solitary
Kirguise village of movable tents stood on the
centre, the river winding almost round it, and form-
ing somewhat of a peninsula, as in the annexed cut,

West

South ., 'Z-r' y> — <:^-~^<s^ North

East

the A being the site of the dwellings. Vast herds
of cattle were grazing beyond the village ; the sun
was setting as it were in clouds of fire ; while the
moon, standing in the south, added a peculiar fea-
ture to the silence and solitude of the scene.

To the tenth station I trudged over bad roads,
in worse weather, and through a dreary and unpro-
ductive country. On reaching the thirteenth sta-
tion, however, high lands to the south began to re-
vive me with their appearance, and break the same-
ness of the scene.

I stopped at Gloukhof, a little unwell, from ha-
ving been wet twenty-four hours ; a small cabin
received me, whose civil landlord and his handsome
daughter readily furnished me with bread, rice, and
milk, and a comfortable bed. Next day, started for
Seinipalatinsk, which I reached at noon, having
crossed some sand-hills.

Semipalatinsk is also a fortress, with nearly one
thousand soldiers and a commandant. It is a neat
town, and has a military school upon the Lancas-
terian system, instructing four hundred boys ; a cir-
cumstance of pleasing reflection to an English mind,
to fin d the benevolent ideas of his own country adopt-
L2

126 SEMIPALATINSK.

ed even here, in a tract of country removed by its
situation from almost every access to civilization.
The establishment is in its infancy, and from this,
and a great want of capable masters, exhibits no
great proficiency beyond reading and writing. The
town, independent of the military, numbers about
two thousand inhabitants, who cany on an incon-
siderable trade with their southern neighbours. It
stands on a pleasant eminence, commanding a fine
view of the lofty mountains to the south. I was
hospitably entertained by the commandant, who
lives in a respectable style. The surrounding
country is void of cultivation, and infested with
robbers, who commit serious depredations, an in-
stance of which occurred while I was at dinner ; a
poor pedlar being robbed of two thousand roubles,
or one hundred pounds, and his horse, neither of
which there is any chance of his recovering. There
is evidently something incorrect, but which I could
not fathom, in the administration of justice as it re-
spects the punishment of robbers ; but there is no
doubt that a due per-centage on the lost property,
applied in a certain manner, will procure its resto*
ration. This, indeed, appears as open a counte-
nance of the crime as can well be imagined ; yet
such is the fact. If no fee is given, little exertion
is made, and the numerous complaints on this sub*
ject have hitherto been of no effect.

I quitted Semipalatinsk late in the evening, and
directed my steps for Ubinsk, along the banks of
a little stream which gives name to the fortress,
and which unites with the Irtish. I had entered
a kibitka which was passing the same way, and at
some distance observed the postilion turn off sud-
denly to the right. My mind misgave me, because
in no instance before had I deviated from the high

POYANOYARSK. 127

road. I recollected, also, that the Cossack and
postilion were both half drunk, and had been in
earnest and secret conversation ; I therefore deter-
mined to quit by a short movement. It was ten
at night, and we were in a low thick brushwood,
when, taking my knapsack, I suddenly quitted the
vehicle, informing them, as well as I could by
signs, and an obstinate persistance not to go their
way, that if they were bound as they had pretend-
ed they would follow me. I continued alone, and
regained the main road ; the vehicle also tacked
and came after me, but I refused to re-enter it, and
marched on to the next station, keeping them at a
respectful distance all the way. On my arrival I
discharged the Cossack, without, however, report-
ing his conduct to the German commandant, as I
perhaps ought to have done. My hostess for the
night was in a most unamiable temper, seeming to
partake of the disappointment of the two fellows ;
for which her husband, a corporal, gave her a sound
drubbing, with a stick " bigger than his thumb."

In the afternoon of the next day I crossed the
Irtish, after a hard walk of thirty miles. The
country low, and wet from smart showers. In the
evening I reached Poyanoyarsk, and here first saw
melons in this country. These, which are of a
prodigious size, form, with cucumbers and bread,
the general summer diet of the inhabitants. They
sell at one copec each, that is ten for a penny ; a
price which certainly does not render to the grower
any thing beyond the barest subsistence ; for five
guineas I might have loaded a ship with them. I
received a great many as presents, but left them
as useless to one in my situation. The cucumbers
are also very fine, and equally cheap, being one
hundred for a penny ; and good wholesome brown

128 UBINSK — UVAROVA.

bread at five pence for forty pounds. Whether
from perfect hospitality or abundance I know not,
I suppose from both, but I certainly never was
better entertained.

Next day I reached Ubinsk, a vile dirty place,
called here a town. I had before passed some dis-
tant elevated lands on the Kirguise side, and here,
I think, may be said to commence that chain of
lofty mountains which divides the empires of Rus-
sia and China. Having procured another Cossack,
I continued along the Irtish for Ustkamenogorsk,
the country on the west presenting some fine hill
and dale, with mountainous breaks in the back
ground, while the Russian side is still a level
steppe. Cornfields lie at intervals along the road
to the river Uba, which unites with the Irtish op-
posite to a bluff projecting point, and hence occa-
sions a strong cross current and rapid. It was late
when I reached it, yet, being anxious to get on, I
determined to cross the stream, against the remon-
strances of the natives. The ferry, or horse-boat,
being out of repair, I was advised to wait at the
village ; but, seeing a canoe, I determined on try-
ing how far it would assist me. My knapsack and
various parts of saddlery I skulled over in safety,
with my Cossack, the inhabitants sending their
horses at the same time, and actually tying two to
the canoe, which had nearly proved fatal to the
whole. I, however, reached in safety, and a tra-
veller on the opposite bank gave me the use of liis
telega to proceed upon my journey, not being liim?
self able to take it across the river.

The night was dull and rainy, but the moon be-
ing near her full, we got on tolerably well, and at
eight in the morning I reached Uvarova, whence I
again began to enjoy my travels ; for that unpro-

USTKAMENOGOR6K. 129

ductive and almost endless flat which extends from
Ubinsk to Tobolsk and the Frozen Sea, and from
the Ural chain far eastward of Tomsk, is now suc-
ceeded by a beautiful variety of hilly country, much
cultivation, and some forest spots. Many bold
and picturesque bluffs run into the river, rushing
as it were through the valleys, and forming strong
eddies as they pass the islands with which the ri-
ver is interspersed. I reached Ustkamenogorsk in
the early part of the second evening, having cross-
ed a sort of broken chain of hills. The scenery in
general was, however, very beautiful and wild ; to
the right, one of the peaks lifts its snow-clad head,
and is visible at the distance of one hundred
miles. Ustkamenogorsk is placed in a vast level
valley, bounded east and west by lofty distant
mountains, and the whole forms a rich and striking
panorama. The fortress is, like others hereabouts,
a bare mud wall, yet keeps a commandant and
three hundred soldiers in snug but useless quarters,
occupied in cutting hay, and feeding upon the poor
peasantry.

Very fine timber is brought here from a distance
of twenty miles, but the country is otherwise ste-
rile. I quitted it for Boukhtarma next morning*
The first station was over a mountainous road, of-
fering the most abundant treasures to the botanist
and mineralogist ; thence to Feklistouska twelve
miles, and to Severnoy ten, over one of the most
romantic countries in the world ; sometimes along
the banks of the rapid Ulba, then across deep and
dangerous ravines, tremendous precipices, and fer-
tile valleys, where a few Tartar peasants, tending
their flocks and herds, were the only signs of any
thing beside the immediate works of the Creator.
Some slender birch and green fir trees arrest the

130 • BOUKHTARMA.

attention on the almost trackless path* The sceno
was too fine to sleep in, and I continued to Alex-
androfskoy, twelve miles farther, to witness a re-
petition of the magnificence I had left behind. It
was indeed a scene to be enjoyed ; at the close of
the evening, in the middle of the month of August,
and when both the great luminaries of heaven were
just seen peeping above the distant hills, one rising
from the east, the other setting in the west, and
not a sound was to be heard save the murmur of
the Ulba winding towards the east. The night
was cold but beautiful, and a heavy dew falling on
the most elevated parts, seemed to cast a melancho-
ly shade over the valleys below. All nature seem-
ed to smile upon me as I trotted over the ground,
meditating upon the perfect beauty of so deserted
and unfrequented a spot. My reverie continued
till midnight, when I reached the village. Thence
on horseback to Boukhtarma, fifteen miles, arriving
early in the morning. The way was still exceed-
ingly beautiful, being over a mountainous tract,
now on the summit and then in a close valley,
everywhere overhung by birch trees. A few corn-
fields also appeared in the last stage before I reach*
ed the fortress.

Boukhtarma stands on the right bank of the Ir-
tish, in one of the most romantic spots in the uni-
verse. It is environed by the noblest mountains,
which yet appear to have no other connexion
with eacli other than that of standing together on
the same globe ; they are in fact so many beauti-
ful hills placed on a perfectly level plain, so that
a traveller may go round them without an ascent
or descent of ten perpendicular feet. From this
may be imagined the romantic beauty of the val-
leys which intervene ; not a tree, nor a shrub, nor

BOUKHTARMA. 131

a habitation, is to be seen, save only in the fortress
— nothing but grass. The valley is one continued
carpet of herbage, forming, in contrast with the
sterHe mountains, a picturesque solitude, undisturb-
ed, except during the night, by the barking of the
wolves and other wild animals.

I drank tea with the commandant, and called on
the administrator of the customs, to whom I had
a commendatory letter. I found him civil, obli-
ging, and tolerably educated — consequently a rare
plant in such a place. I accompanied him to view
what is deemed an object of curiosity in this part
of the world ; it is a large sand-stone near the bank
of the river, on which are imprinted the marks of
the feet of a man and of a horse ; they are in a
perfect state, and to all appearance have been form-
ed by nature. The heels are towards the river,
the feet of the man in advance of those of the
horse about thirty inches, very well representing
the situation of the feet of a man holding the horse.
I could gather nothing of its origin beyond the
silly tradition of the place. It is evident, however,
from the situation of tliis stone, that the river has
changed its course.

The fortress, though it maintains a commandant,
with a garrison of three hundred men, is a miser-
able place, the worst along the whole frontier line ;
nor is the village better. The Kirguise commit
great havoc among the cattle, stealing great num-
bers, of which not more than one half are, in any
circumstances, restored. A considerable trade
might be established at this point between the
Russian and Chinese empires, but for the obsti-
nacy, ignorance, and policy of the latter nation,
who will not change the route by wliich their fore-
fathers travelled. The advantage of the alteration
1

132 BOUKHTARMINSK.

would be sufficiently apparent from the mere fact
of the lesser distance from Pekin to Boukhtar-
minsk, than from that city to Kiatka and Tobolsk.
But the main circumstance is, that, by adopting
Boukhtarminsk as the entrepot of the national com-
modities, no less than three thousand miles of
land-carriage would be saved, as on both sides the
produce might go the whole distance betwixt St
Petersburg and Boukhtarminsk by water ; the ef-
fect of both would evidently be a very consider-
able saving, principally indeed to the Russians, on
which account the Chinese would rather waive
their own advantage than consent to the arrange-
ment.

Against this measure it is argued, that the go-
vernment of Irkutsk would be materially injured.
This is by no means clear : and, even if true, the
benefit of the public should not be put in competi-
tion with that of half a dozen rich merchants, who
might still maintain a trade to supply all Farther
and Central Siberia. The Russian American Com-
pany must be rather benefited than injured by the
measure ; and, in short, all the difference to Rus-
sia would be, that its European dominions would be
supplied with the productions of China at twenty
per cent less than at present. The Russian go-
vernment appear to have had this project in con-
templation, though they have not persevered ; a
few silks, bricks of tea, and tobacco, being the
only articles entered since the erection of a custom-
house. No doubt can exist of the advantages
arising from so local and beautiful a situation ; it
would have the effect of making the banks of the
Irtish, from its source to Tobolsk, one of the most
valuable, fertile, and beautiful districts in the uni-
verse. Settlers would come from all parts of the
6

VER0N1A. 133

world to establish themselves on its boundless
tracts of corn and pasture land. Switzerland has
been called free, but will scarcely bear comparison
with a country which has no human inhabitant.
Nor is the climate bad ; 18° of Reaumur's being
the extreme ; and winter, which begins in Novem-
ber, ending in April.

Having procured a guide, I left Boukhtarminsk
for the line of demarcation on the Chinese and
Russian frontiers. I first crossed the stream which
gives name to the fortress, and then, over a good
path, entered upon a most romantic country, near
the village of Veronia. It is impossible, without
a poetical imagination, to conceive the beauties of
such a country ; the magnificent and bold sterile
precipices, which are seen rising from the great
level pasture base, are, I should think, quite un-
paralleled ; and the noble Irtish, forcing its way
amongst the numerous islands near this part of the
river, adds to the majesty of the scene. At the
village, among other similar luxuries, I was treat-
ed with wild currants, melons, cassia, " milk, and
honey." Surely tins is the natural place for the
habitation of man. The banks of the river are in-
dented with numerous well-formed artificial caves,
used as ice-cellars. Fifteen miles farther I reach-
ed the picturesque village of Cheremshanka, re-
markable as a great breeding place for cattle ;
thence along the banks of the Irtish, on a good
path, over a well-cultivated com country, I passed
Krasniyarki, and at eight in the evening reached
Makaria, on the banks of the Naiym, a small
stream uniting with the Irtish, in an abundant and
fertile valley.

The night was so beautiful, the moon just as-
cending above the hills, that, in spite of a good
VOL. i. m

134 CHINESE SETTLEMENT.

supper which was ready and inviting my attack, I
resumed my journey on horseback, in company
with the landlord, to Malaya-Narymka, the last
Russian spot on the frontier. An officer and a
few men, placed here, are all that are left to mark
the boundaries of two such mighty empires as
Russia and China. I forded the little stream
which forms the actual limit, and, seating myself
on a stone on the left bank, was soon lost in a re-
verie. It was about midnight ; the moon, appa-
rently full, was near her meridian, and seemed to
encourage a pensive inclination. What can sur-
pass that scene I know not. Some of the loftiest
granite mountains spreading in various directions,
enclosing some of the most luxuriant valleys in
the world ; yet all deserted ! — all this fair and fer-
tile tract abandoned to wild beasts, merely to con-
stitute a neutral territory !

To the first Chinese settlement it is eighty
miles ; I would fain have visited it, but durst not,
without previous notice ; and for this ceremony
could ill spare the time. Formerly their advanced
post was where I am writing this account, and I
felt something like pleasure to find myself within
the Celestial Empire. Their guard was, it seems,
removed by the court of Pekin, from jealousy of
her subjects holding any converse with foreigners.
The commanding officer is a banished mandarin,
who is compelled to live like the soldiers, being
denied both money and assistance from his friends ;
but as the post is generally occupied by a person
who has been condemned to death for some great
crime, he is fain to accept his pardon on condition
of serving ten years as chief of the guard. They
have, I was informed, a neat village, with abun-
dance of meat and vegetables, besides wild fruits.

THE BOUKHTARMA. 135

At peep of dawn I re-crossed the Narym, and,
getting a canoe, floated down to my deserted sup-
per at Makaria, which the hostess had been desi-
red by my companion to keep hot. I reached it at
four in the morning, having been carried along by
the stream with dangerous velocity. After some
refreshment, I again entered the canoe, receiving a
brick of tea and a pound of tobacco from my
obliging host. He is a voluntary settler, with
twenty men under his command, who are all ac-
cumulating property. The velocity of the Irtish
soon carried me past Krasniyarki, and I reached
Boukhtarminsk at three in the morning of the fol-
lowing day, if possible still more delighted with
the prospect; the ever-changing variety of the
banks is as rich as the beauty of the inland scenery.
The left bank consists generally of bold and lofty
precipices crowned with wood, while the right
presents a low but beautiful plain, studded with
rocky hills, and abounding in corn and hay.

The re-crossing of the Boukhtarma was certain-
ly a hazardous adventure. The passage is hardly
ever attempted but in the day-time, as there are
many shifting sand-banks, and a tremendous cross
current, or rapid, to avoid. This is occasioned by
four currents meeting at the same point of the
Irtish, near to the fortress; and so rapid is the
collected stream, that nothing but poling the canoe
can cross it ; and if once the boat be brought with-
in the vortex of the centre, nothing can save it from
being swamped.

It was with great difficulty that I prevailed on
any of the Cossacks, who, at the best, are but in-
different boatmen, to take me across. After great
toil and risk we reached in safety : — the fault was
clearly mine had any accident occurred, but I wa»

136 THE BOUKHTARMA.

too impatient at the moment either to weigh the
matter or to listen to remonstrance.

Arriving early, I roused up my old friend the
collector of the customs, with whom I breakfasted
and dined. The place is considered unhealthy,
owing to the foulness of the water of the Boukh-
tarma ; a mischief, one would think, easily reme-
died by the proximity of the Irtish, which is only
two miles distant ; but here Russian indolence su-
persedes most conveniences. I was informed that
rein-deer abound in the mountains, which also con-
tain some sheep. The horns of the former are
considered valuable, fetching two and three guineas
a-pair; when very young the Chinese purchase
them, and extract a favourite medicine ; the young-
er the animal that has shed the horns, the greater
the value. All sorts of diet were too cheap to be
named, enough to hold out reasonable inducements
to emigrate thither.

After dinner I embarked for Ustkamenogorsk,
upon the Boukhtarma, descending which I rapid-
ly entered the Irtish, a noble river. The crew of
the boat offered up thanks for their safe arrival ;
we had come through a close and mountainous
bluff valley, and certainly there was something
terrific in the passage. I need not observe that I
was myself thankful, as really the mixing with
military sailors was far from pleasant. At mid-
night, when we had reached fifty miles, several
fishing-boats joined company ; we left them, how-
ever, with cornier haste, and I reached the fortress
at six in the morning, having been about ten hours
descending a distance of ninety miles. The scene-
ry from Narym to Boukhtarminsk and Ustkame-
nogorsk, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles,
is upon the whole truly beautiful, though not a

THE IRTISH. 137

habitation is to be seen along the banks, which are
lofty eminences, divided by tremendous and per-
pendicular ravines : there are, however, many de-
lightful and romantic situations, but no means of
holding a communication along the banks of the
river except by boats. Wild-fowl and fish are in
the utmost abundance, as observed before when
speaking of Tobolsk.

Of the value of the Irtish I need say nothing ; it
speaks for itself. Holding an almost uninterrupt-
ed communication from the frontiers of China to
the Frozen Sea, a steam-boat might go from
Boukhtarminsk to Tobolsk in a few days, and re-
turn in twice the time. Wood for fire is plentiful,
and many establishments might be formed for the
preparing and felling of it ; while a water commu-
nication is ready formed with the Caspian, Baltic,
and White seas, and thence down even to Tobolsk.
The soil, which is a black mould, is exceedingly
rich. It is to the banks of the Boukhtarma that
colonies of Scotch should be sent, and indeed such
was the intention of the Emperor Paul ; but it was.
set aside upon the breaking out of a war, and has
not since been resumed, though there is no doubt
that, at this moment, such settlers would be both
protected and encouraged. No part of the world
can offer greater or more certain advantages to the
agriculturist than the right bank of the Irtish ; nor
rent, nor tax, nor war, will for ages disturb such a
speculator.

At Ustkamenogorsk I again partook of the hos-
pitality of the commandant, a Frenchman ; his
name is Delancourt, and he has been thirty-five
years in Siberia, doing any thing or nothing ; be-
ing one of those feeble but respectable individuals,
of which there are several, that are supported by
m 2

138 UBINSK.

the liberality of the Russian government. In him
I saw the first instance of a Frenchman's forgetting
his own country ; he seemed entirely divested of
the patriotic affection which that fickle nation are
supposed to possess, but which, perhaps, generally
exists more in appearance than in reality, as where-
ever a Frenchman can do best, there he will
settle.

I asked him if he ever intended to return to
France ? His reply was, that " France WW no-
thing to him." I asked him why ? He looked at
Ms wife and large family of marriageable daugh-
ters, shrugged up his shoulders, and said, " Que
voulez vous que j'y fasse?" and, heaving a sigh,
left the room. Yet, in spite of his teeth, he was
still a Frenchman, for the first words upon his re-
turn were, " Ma pauvre France !" I had touched
a tender string, and, although he is now resigned
to his fate, he says that he has been a " bete" for
marrying, and begetting an entail which lie cannot
quit. His society, during the few hours that I
enjoyed it, was very agreeable.

In the early part of the evening I again em-
barked on the Irtish for Ubinsk, the distance be-
ing eighty miles, — yet I arrived there early in the
morning. The view of the country is various, the
prospect more pleasant and open than higher up,
and some prettily scattered hills on the plain,
which attended me for thirty miles, when the
banks of the river became low and flat ; and except
some hills, very distant to the west, every thing
reminded me that I had again entered upon the
steppe desert. I enjoyed an hospitable and whole-
some breakfast, even at such a dirty place as
Ubinsk ; indeed it presented nothing of interest
but the good and modest looks of its female inha-

MICHAILOFSKY. 139

bitants. I procured a Cossack to attend me to
Barnaoule, distance two hundred and twenty miles ;
the first station towards which was to Chamanai,
twenty-five miles, over cornfields and along the
right bank of the Ulba, which I was now more
fortunate in crossing than before, the large ferry-
boat having been repaired. Passed a large silver
mining village, called Michailofsky ; — the country
becoming hilly and barren, except on the banks of
the river. One occurrence in this district power-
fully recalled me to Europe, for I dined at a pub-
lic-house, and was expected to pay for my dinner,
the first time since my arrival in Siberia. The
place is, however, so great a thoroughfare, that it
is here a considerable business to prepare provi-
sions for the thousands of carters who are employ-
ed in transporting the ore to Kolyvan and Zmeye-
va ; yet still these inns boast so economical a
charge, that in no instance had I to pay more than
ten copecs (one penny) for as hearty a meal as I
could desire, — a meal which was made of bread,
meat, vegetables, and beer, or kuass. I have no
hesitation in asserting, that one penny of Siberia
is equal to one shilling of England.

To the next station is a good road of twenty
miles over a well-cultivated country. On the se-
cond day I reached Zmeyeva, twenty miles farther,
through heavy rains, and over a hilly country. It
is an uncivil and inhospitable place. I arrived at
near ten o'clock, exceedingly wet and fatigued,
and, presenting myself to the police-master, was
sent to three lodgings, all of which refused me
from my distressed appearance. I again returned
to the police, and seating myself down on the door-
steps, raining as it was, made my supper of melons
and bread, with a glass of spirit from the kabak ;

140 THE KOLYVAN.

in this condition I was found by the police-master,
who had heard of my being refused entrance. He
accompanied me to the master of the house, whom
he reprimanded, and actually turned the owners
out of the best room to make accommodation for
me. I felt averse to such conduct, yet knowing
the custom of the country, and feeling what a night
it was, I would not interfere, and, therefore, after
partaking of tea, which in this country is soon pro-
vided, lay down with my Cossack, — a mere use^
less fellow.

Next morning I found the master and mistress of
the house as civil as they had been the reverse,
providing me with all I wanted, and even begging
me not to be angry at their unintentional error.
Zmeyeva is a large but scattered place, next in rank
to Barnaoule, in the government of Kolyvan. It
numbers from five to six thousand inhabitants, all
in thriving circumstances. It has many valuable
silver and copper mines in its neighbourhood, and
a considerable government establishment is kept up
for their use, and for reducing the ore to silver,
which is said to be found here purer than in any
other part of the government ; but I did not wait
to view the works, being anxious to reach Bar-
naoule. Arrived at Saukas, I discharged the Cos-
sack, as a saucy and useless fellow, who had flat-
tered himself I could not do without him. In ge-
neral they are more plague than profit ; though I
am willing to make allowance for the unpleasant-
ness of travelling with a capricious stranger, and
this too in rainy weather and over bad roads, with-
out being permitted to ride but at his pleasure. In
the evening I reached the river Kolyvan, beyond
which is a romantic-looking country, inhabited by
a wild Raskolnick race, who seemed inclined to try

KALMANKA. 141

how k»g I could travel without food. They are
descendants of a people banished by the Empress
Catherine from Poland, about the time of the
second dismemberment in 1789. I was, however,
fortunate in getting a lodging at the abode of an
old soldier who had lost both his legs, although the
rest of the society consisted of fifteen ironed con-
victs, bound to the mines of Nertchinsk as desert-
ers from those of Kolyvan. I was too glad to get
anywhere from the inclemency of the weather, and
Raskolnicks, to feel much care about my present
company.

I reached the fifth station over a flat pasture
plain, passing and meeting the greatest variety of
vehicles which I have ever seen converted to one
use, all of which are employed between the mines
and Barnaoule in carrying the earth and ores. The
common telega, canoes, coffins, covered carts, and
waggons, are alike occupied ; the covered carts have
locks attached to them, and belong to the govern-
ment, and are used expressly for conveying the
more valuable specimens. I inquired into the con-
dition of the people, but could only learn that he
who had most horses and carts was best off". Having
crossed the little river Aley, I was hospitably en-
tertained at the sixth station by the elder of the
tillage, whose mother is a German; we contrived
to be intelligible to one another, and he was so
good as to send me with his horses the next morn-
ing to the eighth station, near forty miles of abo-
minable and slippery roads. I got to the river
Katonnya, at the ninth station, and, crossing by a
decent wooden bridge, entered a fine open country,
the Obe flowing majestically in the fore-gronnd.
Cultivation was conspicuous in every direction ;
and immense forests bounded the distant horizon.

142 BARNAOULE.

At Kalmanka I was almost knocked lip and tor-
tured with an insufferable headach ; my very eyes
seemed a plague to me ; I was, in short, so ill as to
refuse all nourishment. Fortune threw me into the
habitation of an old, civil, and humane man, who,
seeing my condition, kindly put me into his own
bed, giving me also some warm tea, and a couple
of fox blankets. I slept well, and arose next morn
in every respect, except weakness, as if nothing had
ailed me.

With my knapsack on my shoulders I bade
adieu to my kind host, and reached Barnaoule in
the afternoon, eighteen miles; the neighbouring
country one vast pasture, enlivened by some fine
wood, and villages enclosed within cultivated
lands. Upon nearing the city, the soil becomes
changed from a black mould to heavy sand, and
the face of the country is converted from uninter-
rupted and picturesque cultivation to a thick forest
of pine and fir. Descending the hill to the south-
west, Barnaoule has a neat and remarkably regular
appearance, being situated on the Obe, just at the
point where the little river Barnaoule enters it. I
waited upon the police-master, procured comfort-
able lodgings, passed the night well, and then paid
my respects to his excellency the governor (Fro-
loff), who, with his amiable lady, showed me every
attention during my stay, and insisted upon my
making their house my home.

The governor was good enough to accompany
me to the different public works, all of which I
found in the best state, and was highly gratified at
the inspection. Indeed the order and proper feel-
ing of the government of Barnaoule might be made
a proverb ; the work in the mines, and all the de-
partments, being carried on day and night. The

BARNAOULE. 143

silver metal is wrought into ingots, and in that
state forwarded to St Petersburg ; but the copper
ore is coined to pay the salaries of the officers and
workmen. The money of Barnaoule is far supe-
rior in workmanship to that of Ekatherinebourg.
There are thirty-two mines belonging to the Em-
peror, and more are continually discovered, so that
the whole district may be said to be silver. They
yield, upon an average, twelve hundred poods of
metal, which, in consideration of some gold mixed
with it, is equal to four millions and a half of rou-
bles, or two hundred thousand pounds, — no trifling
return to Russia from so small a province. The
expense of the establishment, including the main-
tenance of the officers, &c. is about one million and
a half of roubles ; which is nearly defrayed by the
taxes, duties, and tributes paid by the Calmucks
and Kirguise from the southward. The establishr
ment, therefore, certainly produces a clear revenue
of four millions.

Of eighty-two thousand inhabitants which the go-
vernment contains, independent of thirteen thousand
belonging entirely to the works, fifty-five thousand,
or two-thirds, are obliged to be constantly at work,
that is, during twelve hours out of the twenty-four ;
the first week during the night, and the second
during the day, and so on. The third week is a
period allotted for the working of their lands, and
this they owe to the goodness and humanity of the
present chief, who has in many respects ameliorated
the condition of the unfortunates under him, and
who, it will be recollected, are, like those at Eka-
therinebourg, not criminals, but peasants belonging
to the Emperor.

The wages and profits derived from this very
hard work, carried op day and night, are almost

144 BARNAOULE.

too trifling to name; but a little reflection will
show that their condition is far from wretched.
Their direct profits depend upon their actual la-
hour, as he who has most horses, or carries most
loads from the mines to Barnaoule, receives most
money. They have also ample time to work their
lands, and reap abundance of corn and vegetables.
Scarcely any full-grown man can be found who
has not two or three horses and as many horned
cattle, employed during the season in carrying the
ore, for which they receive at the rate of thirteen
copecs the pood — one penny farthing for thirty -six
pounds. Many of them prefer this employment,
and are actually able to save considerable sums of
money in it, especially those who have many horses.
The plan is this : —

The journey from Zmeyeva to Barnaoule occu-
pies nine days, and allowing the same time for rest
and returning, eighteen days are consumed in lodg-
ing twenty poods of earth, which is the average of
each horse ; and as each pood pays thirteen and a
half copecss he receives two hundred and sixty-five
copecs, or about two shillings ; a sum here suffi-
cient to maintain one person in bread and meat for
thirty days, at the rate of one pound and a half of
meat and three pounds of bread a-day. This cal-
culation is on the supposition that each driver
manages but one cart, when, in fact, they some-
times have the charge of ten and fifteen, the pro-
fits of one half of which are equal to a rouble
a-day, a sum sufficient to maintain at least ten
people in bread and meat — to say nothing of their
other means in the produce of two days' extra
work in each week. But this is not all ; many of
the carters, who do the work of others, receive one
hundred and fifty roubles a-year for that service ;

BARNAOULE. 145

no question can therefore possibly arise of the
flourishing state of the government of Kolyvan.

The quantity of earth brought to the works of
Barnaoule in the course of the year, is four mil-
lions of poods. Each pood producing one rouble
of clear profit gives the revenue already stated ;
two per cent is added for the quantity of gold,
and seven for the value of copper, two hundred
and fifty thousand roubles of which are coined.
The carriage of so immense a quantity of earth
is about half a million of roubles, or twenty-five
thousand pounds, about one-third of the whole
expense of the government of Kolyvan. Twelve
thousand horses and oxen are employed, and about
fifteen hundred labourers — an average of eight
horses to each.

The quantity of cultivated land is two hundred
and fifty thousand English acres, from which one
million and a quarter of poods of flour are pro-
duced, belonging entirely to the peasantry. The
produce of vegetables is also wonderful, and the
immense herds of cattle keep down meat at a very
low price. That of provisions was as follows : —
white bread, seldom used, sixty copecs, or six-
pence for forty pounds; ordinary bread, that used
by all classes, threepence for forty pounds ; excel-
lent beef, fifteenpence for forty pounds, or two
pounds for three farthings ; and vegetables, eggs,
milk, butter, &c. for the merest trifle. House
rent is very cheap, and society is good. The town
is well and regularly built, having many handsome
edifice! of brick as well as of wood, and upon the
whole it is a most desirable place for residence.
The city contains about eight thousandinhabitants ;
and although the situation is not particularly beau-
tiful, it has still many advantages, being placed in

VOL. I. N .r>

146 BAllWAOULE.

a noble forest, which serves at once for building
and firing. There is a neat promenade in its only
square, which is likely to be much frequented.
The governor depends solely on the cabinet, to
whom, as at Ekatherinebourg and Nertchinsk, the
reports are made ; not even the governor-general
can interfere. It may be compared in rank with
a vice-governorship.

Upon my arrival, I found great preparations
making to receive his excellency Mr Speranski,
the governor-general, who was making the circuit
of all the governments to inquire into abuses, he
being possessed of unlimited powers. His ex-
cellency arrived in the course of the second day,
and was received with the respect due to his rank,
integrity, and virtues. Two sumptuous dinners
were given by the chief of the district ; the gar-
dens were illuminated, balls were assembled, and
every one was happy. I, of course, shone a con-
spicuous object ; indeed, I was honoured with the
friendship and confidence of both those gentlemen.
Of General Speranski I will only say, that I have
never seen more true greatness of soul or goodness
of heart. There is in him a certain condescension
and affability, and at the same time a certain air
of nobility, that strikes all who approach him with
awe and respect. Of his personal attentions to
me I shall ever feel proud and grateful. He had
at first taken me for a Raskolnick, from my long
beard and longer golden locks ; notwithstanding I
wore at the same time a long swaddling grey nan-
keen coat, and a silken sash round my waist ; but
indeed so great a buck had I become of late, that
I hardly knew myself. As to my shoes, they were
better than new, although seven years had elapsed
from the time that Baron Bode had first used them.

BAItNAOULE. 147

To return, however, to the governor-general.
He told me that there was an expedition on the
river Kolyma, fitted out purposely to solve the
question regarding the north-east cape of Asia ;
and his excellency kindly offered me his permis-
sion to proceed with it. Too glad to accept a fa-
vour of the kind, I instantly closed with the offer,
and determined not to wait a moment in Irkutsk
and Yakutsk beyond the necessary time, but to
proceed immediately to the Frozen Sea, either to
share the fortune, good or bad, of the expedition,
or, in case of any impediment from jealousy, to
withdraw and follow some other plan. The go-
vernor-general supplied me with various orders
and recommendations for whatever places I should
visit, as also an open order '< To the judges of
towns and provinces, to the members of the pro-
vincial courts of justice, and to all commissaries
in the government of all Siberia," recommending
" that the bearer, Captain John Cochrane, of the
British Royal Navy, now travelling through Si-
beria, should obtain every lawful protection, de-
fence, and hospitality, and that every aid within
the power of the towns and provinces should be
afforded him, in case he should stand in need of
them."

With the above valuable recommendation, al-
most amounting to a command, and a Cossack, I
departed, from a town which I still think the hap-
piest, the best governed, and neatest in Siberia,
for Tomsk, taking the road towards Gumba,
through ten miles of sandy and thickly- wooded
country, along the left bank of the Obe. I cross-
ed that river the next day, on my way to Osokiena.
There are in the neighbourhood some silver pits,
and some lakes, but no cultivation whatever. I

148 WASIUGAN — I3AZ1LLOFKA.

readied the fifth station on the second day, con-
stantly in a thick forest of noble pines, passing
many lakes, as well as small rivers, all uniting with
the Obe. On arriving at Wasiugan, my Cossack
gave me a proof of his utility by getting drank, and
losing his pipe and his cap as well as his senses,
in which state, therefore, I left him to shift for
himself.

Upon reaching Bazillofka, the country improves,
and the villages are pleasantly distributed. The
inhabitants were all shivering with the cold, though
wrapped up in furs ; while I, in my nankeen, ex-
perienced no inconvenience. The view of the
country did not change until I reached Prosokova,
where some well cultivated hills make their ap-,
pearance. My Cossack overtook me, and, after
many professions of contrition, obtained his par-
don, and got drank immediately upon the strength
of it. At Verushina I got sight of the Tom, wind-
ing over a well-cleared country, but sadly bare of
inhabitants. I was again overhauled for contra-
band goods. From thence to Tomsk are thirty
miles, where I arrived early the following morn-
ing. In the latter part, the country bore the ap-
pearance of a desert ; wood had disappeared, and
cultivation had ceased, although the road was fine.
I presented myself to the vice-governor, bro-
ther-in-law to Mr Berg of Perm and Mr Hosing
of Tobolsk, my former hosts. Here also I got
well lodged ; after which I called on his excel-
lency the governor Illichefsky, with whom, and
his amiable family, I passed my time pleasantly.
The governor presented me with fifty roubles, a
watch, a pair of spectacles, and some few articles
of wearing apparel, making part of the effects of
which I had been robbed near St Petersburg — thu s

TOMSK. 149

verifying my observation to the governor of Nov-
gorod, that the robbers would be found, but not
before I had reached the heart of Siberia, where I
now was.

Tomsk is a city, and capital of a province of the
same name, containing five hundred thousand in-
habitants, while there are about nine or ten thou-
sand in the city, which, in spite of several churches
and many handsome edifices, public and private,
is a most miserable place, yet showing every hos-
pitality and kindness to travellers and strangers.
The society also is, I am afraid, far from good, ow-
ing to the bad example from those whose rank and
situation should produce other effects on their in-
feriors. The town is on the right bank of the
Tom, near its mouth, at the foot of a hill which
protects it from the north-east and south-east winds.
During May and June it is greatly subject to in-
undation from the river.

Tomsk has a military school, with four hundred
students, backward enough in their education, as
also a provincial college without masters or scho-
lars, though a considerable revenue is attached to
it. Indeed, the only praiseworthy object is a very
neat public garden, in which is a building for balls,
dinners, and the like; and on this day, 30th August,
both were to be held in honour of the Emperor's
name-day. I declined the invitation to this fete,
from anxiety to get to my ulterior destination. Of
the five hundred thousand inhabitants, about eighty
thousand pay taxes. The gross revenue is, I be-
lieve, about three millions of roubles, nearly the
whole of which is necessary to support the go-
vernment, thus yielding little or no return to the
Emperor. It appears useless as a government, its
N 2

150 TOMSK.

best service being to keep the roads in repair, and
to mark the half way between Tobolsk and Irkutsk.

While the province of Kolyvan, at present in-
dependent, wras attached to the government, it
made indeed some returns ; but that branch being
lopped off, the parties in office, high and low, ap-
pear to have given up all idea of being of service,
and have since done less than nothing.

Except in point of locality, Tomsk does not
appear an eligible place as the seat of a govern-
ment, which it would certainly be preferable to
remove to Yakutsk, dividing the intervening space
between Tobolsk and Irkutsk, deducting from the
latter all beyond Kirenga on the Lena, and from
the former all west of the Irtish and Tobol, and
only south to Ishim ; creating Ekatherinebourg
and Barnaoule into distinct governments, so that
the boundaries of the latter should be all the coun-
try south of the great road. Yakutsk would then
be the most extensive government in point of ter-
ritory, holding the command even of Kamtchatka,
instead of Irkutsk, as at present. The duty of a go-
vernor of Irkutsk, and that of a vice-governor, are
much too great to be united, and no possibility exists
of completing any year's accounts within the year.

I witnessed at Tomsk the sale of thirty tolerable
sized bullocks for four hundred and eighty roubles,
or about eighteen pounds sterling ; excepting only
at Mexico, I have never seen another such instance
of cheapness and plenty. The province, however,
does not produce much bread, being too cold and
exposed ; that commodity may therefore be deem-
ed dear at its present price of a rouble (or ten-
pence) for forty pounds. 1 departed for Irkutsk
in company with a Cossack, and furnished with a
discretionary authority to procure horses, as also

KOLIONSKAYA. 151

an open order for every attention to be shown to
me. 1 passed over a dreary and woodless flat waste,
until I reached Kolionskaya, eighty miles. The
villages had been numerous, but miserable in the
extreme, excepting those inhabited by Tartars.
They are Mahometans, and, like those of Tobolsk
and Tara, of the Kazan race. From Kolionskaya
the country appears to rise a little, but the road
was most execrable, nay, almost impassable, either
by man or horse. The wood is now of tolerable
size ; birch, fir, larch, pine, and poplar ; but there
is little or no cultivation, and no appearance of in-
dustry, the inhabitants being a lazy set of exiled
Russians. The care of cattle, and the raising a
few vegetables, together with the transport of mer-
chandise for the merchants, almost exclusively en-
gage their attention, when they are not employed
in drinking ; and the women have quite enough to
do to find their lazy husbands in provisions and
clothes.

Such was my route the next day to Krasno-
retchinsky, one hundred miles. Almost each vil-
lage is favoured with a small river, many of them
with considerable ones ; yet the road has little or
no interest, and the villages are composed of half-
finished huts. From Batoya my journey was
rendered unpleasant, through a misunderstanding
with my Cossack, who, meeting with an old crony,
had requested to stay supper. I consented, being
hungry, under the expectation of being asked to
partake ; but finding myself disappointed, I hurried
away. He followed, grumbling, and giving me at
intervals a good deal of impertinence, — a thing, I
must confess, very rarely tolerated in Russia. Next
day I reached Atchinsk, pleasantly situated on the
banks of the Tchulym, in a hilly country, with its

\o2 ATCHINSK KRASNOJARSK.

two costly churches, some good houses, and two
thousand five hundred inhabitants. It can yet bare-
ly be called a town ; it is at least a very miserable
one.

I proceeded through it, and many villages, till
I reached Krasnojarsk, distant eighty miles, over a
road, with little exception, almost impassable ; that
part which lies between Chornaretsk to Mallo
Kemtchoutska is so bad, that I know of no better
punishment to call the faculties of the director-
general of the roads into exertion, than making him
ride the distance of fifty miles everyday in a telega;
if that did not recall him to his duty, I think no-
thing could,— at all events, it would be no sine-
cure. For my own part, my bones were so shaken
that I preferred walking. The stages are also too
long ; a fault, however, in the course of remedy,
as new villages are springing up at every eight and
ten miles.

At Bolchei Kemtchoutska I met the caravan with
teas, silks, and nankeens, from the Chinese fron-
tiers, bound toMoscow, consisting of some hundreds
of carts. The hilly country continues as far as
Zeledeyeva, to which place it is a dreary wild; but
thence a fine open country begins, the hills to the
north-east exhibiting a laborious cultivation even
to their summits.

It was five in the evening when I entered Kras-
nojarsk, veiled like a nun — no bad remedy against
the effects of the mosquitoes ; and although the
appearance seemed strange to me, I persisted in
following this custom of the natives. The last
stage upon approaching this city is richly luxuriant
on both sides, with the Yenissey rolling its pictu-
resque course over a soil rich and well cultivated,
and the vicinity may boast situations for the dwell-

KRASNOJARSK. 153

ings of a prince, peasant, or philosopher. The little
river Katcba winds at the foot of the north-western
liills, and, uniting with the Yenissey, forms an in-
teresting ohjeet. The town stands at their junc-
tion, on a low, flat, sandy peninsula, and from the
course which the river is now taking, threatens in
time to completely inundate it ; the principal church,
which formerly stood in the centre of the town,
being now actually in water.

The Emperor Paul had it in contemplation to
plant here also a Scotch coloiiy, but the project,
like that before mentioned, and for the same rea-
son, was set aside. His successor, Alexander,
has attempted in vain to follow up a plan every
way so desirable : first, to the individual emigrants,
who would enjoy fine lands, with few taxes, and a
free exercise of their religion ; and, secondly, to the
Russian government, as they would have thereby
become possessed of individuals skilled in the pro-
cess of agriculture in general, and who would have
furnished the most valuable examples of industry
and economy. The town is said to contain three
thousand males ; but the site is considered un-
wholesome, owing to the vapours which rise from
the Yenissey. The extremes of heat and cold are
from thirty-two degrees of heat to forty "of frost;
fevers are prevalent in the town, but in the
neighbouring valleys the air is mild and whole-
some. These valleys abound in fine timber, and
are highly productive of the necessaries and com-
forts of life ; excellent beer is also an article of
great consumption, while corn brandy may literal-
ly be termed dirt cheap. So abundant and cheap
are all kinds of provisions, that they find their way
even to Kamtchatka. Bread I saw sold at 10

154 KANSKOY.

copecs, equal to l|d., for 401bs., while meat was
but 2s. 6d. the same quantity.

I was hospitably entertained by the police-mas-
ter, who supplied me with bread, rum, tobacco,
tea, and sugar, sufficient to last me to Irkutsk.
Crossing the Yenissey, which is a quarter of a mile
broad, I reached Kanskoy, about one hundred and
thirty miles, over a tolerable road, and in many
parts well cultivated country ; the villages are scat-
tered at every ten and fifteen miles, but there are
few dwellings off the great road. At Kliutchy,
my Cossack exercised his high powers in giving
the elder of the village a sound flogging, for his
dilatoriness in providing him with a horse. This
power is vested in the Cossacks by a custom of
long standing, but which calls loudly for redress.
In the end, I arranged the matter by giving the old
man a glass at the kabak.

At Kanskoy I dined with the commissary, late
a schoolmaster, who spoke the French language.
He presented me with a considerable curiosity,
being part of the jaw-bone of a mammoth. I drank
tea with the chief of the farmers, a genteel young
man, twice a widower, who has a good house and
better furniture. Continuing my route, I soon
arrived at the frontiers of the province of Irkutsk,
which is divided from that of Tomsk by the river
Kan, which might with some propriety be deno-
minated Styx, as the convicts who cross it general-
ly remain for life. Should they desert and be
brought back again, their punishment is indeed
severe, — -being liable to all the penalties which by
the laws of England might be inflicted upon an
outlaw. The peasants are naturally on the look-
out for them, and by force of cudgelling, attended
with the application of the epithet " varnack," or

NISHNEY UDINSK. 155

" base fellow," compel them to return. The term
has been said, not improbably, to be used in al-
lusion to Yermak the conqueror, but I shall not
attempt to decide the point.

Upon entering the government of Irkutsk, the
weather became cold and windy, or what is here
called a Bourea, being, on the authority of the
schoolmaster, derived from the Greek word of the
same import, — to an explanation of which I was
obliged in courtesy to listen before I could be al-
lowed to move. Having got clear, I continued
my route to Ingashe, the largest, neatest, and most
regular village I have ever seen. The improve-
ment upon entering the government of Irkutsk is,
indeed, wonderful. The attention, regularity, and
order, as well as cleanliness, every where to be
seen, reflect the highest credit on the police and
late governor of Irkutsk. This gentleman has,
however, been superseded and arrested by the go-
vernor-general Speranski, and is now under trial
at St Petersburg upon veiy serious charges. I
saw many instances of the excellent state of the
police even in the villages on the high road ; nei-
ther dog, nor horse, nor cart, nor any species of
manure, being allowed to remain in the streets,
scarcely even for a moment. The inhabitants of
these villages are mostly exiles for minor offences,
and are settled in villages on the high-road, and
compelled to pay yasack, or the Siberian poll-tax.

As I proceeded, the road improved, and the
country appeared more fertile and picturesque ;
much fine timber is every where to be seen, the
ground still continuing on a gentle ascent, and I
reached Nishney, viz. Lower, Udinsk, receiving
every hospitality possible. It is a small but rather
a neat town, of three thousand inhabitants, plea-

156 IRKUTSK.

santly situated on the Uda, at the foot of a con-
siderable range of elevated table lands. A com-
plete forest of fir, birch, pine, larch, poplar, and
all such wild productions. Passing through Kin-
gui, a Tartar village, I continued my route in ra-
ther a melancholy mood,

For the thoughts we cannot bridle,
Force their way without the will. '

Amid beautiful scenery and much cultivation, a
well frequented but dangerous road, broken with
villages at every eight or ten miles, carried me to
an imperial village, where there is a celebrated
manufactory of cloth ; being night, I had not an
opportunity of visiting it, but the cleanliness and
beauty of all the buildings form a strong presump-
tion in its favour.

Bilbetie is a large village at the conflux of three
rivers, where an excellent ferry is established, pre-
vious to the passage of which I had occasion to
demand horses. There were at the port station
only enough for one kibitka, and they had in part
been promised to a junior rank, I. e. to a subaltern
officer. The postmaster, observing that neither
of us were much incommoded with luggage, very
properly proposed that we should go in the same
vehicle ; the officer refusing to come into these
terms, the horses were put at my disposition, and
I continued on for the last stage towards Irkutsk,
in high satisfaction with every thing I had seen, so
superior to the governments of Tobolsk or Tomsk.
The country, however, has latterly appeared less
picturesque, being a sandy soil. On my approach
to the capital early in the morning, a thick fog
hovering on the Angara precluded the view of it,
till I reached the monastery near the river ; coast-

IRKUTSK. 157

ing which, I suddenly observed, over the dense
atmosphere, the churches beautifully reflecting the
sun's rays from their tin or copper casings. I
crossed the ferry, and at eight in the morning en-
tered the hospitable habitation of the chief of the
navy in the city of Irkutsk.

VOl i

[ 158 ]

CHAPTER VI.

Irkutsk Vercholensk — Kirenga — Vittim — Jerbat— .The

Tongousians — Olekminsk — Bistack — Yakutsk — The

Lena Micza — Aldan — The Toukoslar — Baralass — The

Sartar The Bouroulak — Tabalak— The Tostak and

Dogdoa — Kabbregah, &c. rivers — The Rasoka — The
Biekhall and Bludenayah — The Chouboukalah, Galani-
mah, and Indigirka — Zashiversk — Brousniekah — Sordak
— TheAlazea — Middle Kolyma — Malone — NishneyKo-
lyrnsk.

The commandant of the navy received me in a
flattering manner ; I had the offer of several other
residences, but he being a single man, with a large
government house, I was induced by these circum-
stances to stick to the profession, and take up my
abode with him.

Having made myself as decent as my limited
wardrobe would allow, I called on the vice-gover-
nor, there being no governor, who made great pro-
mises, and exceeded them in performance. Upon
quitting his excellency I made some visits, and de-
livered my letters of recommendation, made in-
quiries as to my future movements, and then re-
turned to an elegant dinner with my host, who had
invited a party of twenty persons to meet me ; in-
deed, the hospitality and attentions which were

IRKUTSK. 159

showered upon me in this stage of my journey*
were such as, I may fairly say, I could have expe-
rienced in few, if any, parts of what is called the
civilized world, especially when the humbleness
both of my appearance and pretensions is consi-
dered ; even the ladies condescended to visit the
abode of my host— a single man — doubtless out of
respect to me. The company consisted of the same
individuals whom I afterwards met at almost every
party, with hardly any variation ; namely, the com-
mandant, his lady and sister ; the colonels of artil-
lery and infantry, with their wives; Captain Kouti-
gin ; a rich merchant, who farms the sale of spi-
rits, and his wife ; the head of the Russian Ame-
rican Company, with his wife and two daughters ;
and a Mr Gedenstrom and wife, who had travelled
on discovery across the Frozen Sea, in 1809, 10,
and 11. Besides these, the parties were enlivened
by the company of doctors, secretaries, and half-a-
dozen young civil officers, being in the highest rank
of society. I retired from the first day's fete at an
early hour, thankful for the many favours so libe-
rally heaped upon me.

Next morning, in company with Captain Kou-
tigin, 1 left the Admiralty House, which is two
miles from the city, to view whatever is notable in
Irkutsk. The number of them is small, and they
are widely scattered. Fifteen thousand inhabi-
tants, including three thousand of the military, are
said to compose the population. Irkutsk indeed
scarcely deserves the name of city, except for its
public buildings, which are good; yet though I con-
fess it is upon the whole a fine town, I could not
but feel disappointment from its total want of ori-
ginal plan, as well as its present want of regularity,
which must retard its advancement for a long time

1G0 IRKUTSK.

to come. Tobolsk is certainly its superior in every
thing except its situation, and the singularly fine ap-
pearance of a few buildings, public and private.
The streets are wide, and run at right angles, but
there are in some of them gaps of two and three
hundred yards, without a building. There are,
however, many fine points of view ; and when it is
considered that Irkutsk has been raised into a go-
vernment and city only within these forty years,
its progress towards improvement must be acknow-
ledged. The houses are for the greater part of
wood, though many are of brick, and constructed
in a superior style of architecture.

Of the churches there are at least a dozen, which
not a little contribute to the splendour of its appear-
ance ; and though they boast of but very few relics,
I feel certain that their bishop fulfils his functions
as creditably as any other man of his profession. His
eminence did me the pleasure to invite me to a pub-
lic breakfast, given in honour of the emperor's co-
ronation, which I attended, and was highly satisfied
with his conduct in every respect.

With my friend, Mr Gedenstrom, I conversed
about my plans. He appears to be one of the
ablest men in Siberia, and, although rather under a
cloud at the present moment, is highly worthy of
respect and consideration. He had formerly served
as private secretary to Count Romanzoff, when
that nobleman was chancellor of the empire ; but
either some misunderstanding, or some misadven-
ture, occasioned his removal by the imperial go-
vernment, to another scene of action. He was
lately commissary of the most lucrative quarter, as
a reward for his perseverance and diligence when
employed upon the Icy Sea discoveries. I am not
aware that any account of his services has been

IRKUTSK. 161

made known to the public, but I am fully sure they
deserve to have been. It is only mentioning a part
of them to say, that he has surveyed all the islands
bearing the name of New Siberia, as far north as
the latitude of 76°, and has been longer and farther
on the ice than any other traveller. Few men in
Siberia have more general talent of any description,
and, through his kindness, I was favoured with a
fund of the most interesting and important inform-
ation.

During the short period of my stay in Irkutsk,
I was variously employed, either visiting such
places as seemed most worthy of notice, or fixing
and arranging these ill-assorted recollections. I
visited a military school, like the others, upon the
Lancasterian system, with seven hundred boys ; it
is doing well, which is more than can be said for
the institution belonging to the city ; indeed, it is
a matter of serious regret, that in Russia so little
prospers that is not backed by military influence ;
where the fault lies it might be difficult to discover
on so short an acquaintance. There is a mineralo-
gical cabinet appertaining to the city institution, in
which are deposited many magnificent specimens
of the Nertchinsk mines.

I visited the prison, which I found in a state that
would have commanded the approbation of the hu-
mane and philanthropic Howard. It is spacious
and well ventilated, and the prisoners are allowed
plenty of wholesome provisions. They are only
chained when employed out of the prison, either
upon public works or in the removal of any nui-
sance. In connexion with the prison I may also
notice a species of public manufactory, or working
bazar, for every sort of trade ; the inmates, or work-
men, are in general Ruch as have been exiled for
o2

162 IRKUTSK.

misdemeanours, and are detained for their own and
the public benefit ; many of them contrive to earn
a considerable fortune, and all are secure of the be-
nefit of full employment. The building is of wood,
and belongs to the city, who hire out apartments
at fixed prices, retaining also a proportion of the
gainings, which are appropriated to charitable pur-
poses ; their capital is already very considerable,
and it is one of those public-spirited and well-di-
gested schemes which is worthy of imitation in
every civilized state, where there are either crimi-
nals to punish, or unfortunates to relieve.

The exchange and public bazars are a fine range
of buildings, with a superb saloon in the centre,
where public balls and masquerades are held at
least as often as once a-fortnight during the long
winters, besides numerous private balls.

Of society there is but little, but that little is
good, and mostly German. I must, however, ex-
cept my venerable and respectable countryman,
Mr Bentham, as also his homely Cockney wife.
Of all the methodical people, preserving their ori-
ginality of manners, customs, and opinions, this
couple are certainly the most extraordinary I have
ever seen moving on their own axis or in their own
orbit ; they appear to exist between light and dark-
ness, unconscious and careless of what passes
around them. Mr Bentham has been forty years
in Siberia, in the full enjoyment of the same pro-
verbial reputation that his honesty would have en-
titled him to had he for ever remained a citizen of
London. He has filled a ludicrous variety of si-
tuations : horse-dealer to the celebrated Count
OrlofF ; secretary to the Governor-general Jacobi ;
a respectable merchant ; and, lastly, a Siberian
commissary. A grant of land has been given to

IRKUTSK. 163

liim by the emperor, and the rank of nobility ena-
bles him to hold a few peasants, which inhabit his
small village in the circle of Irkutsk. As to Mrs
Bentham, she has just been long enough (fourteen
years) in Siberia to forget her own native lan-
guage, but not long enough to learn that of her
adopted country : with all their nationalities I found
them a worthy couple ; their only child, a spoiled
boy, is in the hands of the missionaries at Selen-
ginsk. At a public ball given in honour of the co-
ronation, I counted seventy ladies ; yet this was
considered as a very small number for Irkutsk, as
they sometimes muster on such occasions from two
to three hundred. The truth is, with the excep-
tion of the ladies I have before named, most of the
fair sex belong to the merchants, who may with
propriety be termed Jew pedlars, for they deny
themselves and their wives almost every comfort,
save that of a public and ostentatious dress, from
a spirit of opposition and vindictive feeling towards
the military, who also, on their side, but too gene-
rally treat them in the same ungenerous, if not
slighting and contemptuous, manner that we do the
Jews in England. A Jew in England, and a mer-
chant in Russia, except in the capitals, or princi-
pal seaport cities, stand on the same level ; and I
may venture to say, that, with very few excep-
tions, it is not consistent with etiquette, much less
with custom, for a person of rank to dine with a
merchant, unless he be mayor or farmer-general, or
unless on his saint's day, when it certainly is com-
mon to honour him with an acceptation.

The merchants, on the other hand, have as strong
a feeling against the receiving of the military in
private, as the latter can have against recognising
them in public.

164 IRKUTSK.

It is a serious evil that the sons and daughters
of the merchants have received no better educa-
tion. Many of them can scarcely read or write,
yet they are, in point of opportunity, on a par with
those who move in the same sphere in European
Russia, owing to the assistance rendered by the
Swedes and French, and other exiles, many of
whom possess first-rate talents. These expatriated
instructors have tended to improve and civilize Si-
beria, in a ratio surpassing that of central Russia.
But many years must elapse before that happy
union of society, so conspicuous in England, can
be brought about in this part ; before the swad-
dling cloak, and long beard, will be laid aside with
the same avidity with which they are now guard-
ed. Yet I do not think it a matter of speculation,
nay, I do not think it a difficult task, to instil a
spirit of literary emulation into the minds of even
the lower orders of the Russian community. With
them, more can be done by fair than by foul play ;
coercive or compulsive measures will do nothing
with the Russian, when brought in contact with
his national prejudices. Having adverted to the
want of a proper understanding between the noble
and the merchant — a want which I impute as much
to pride on the one, as ignorance on the other part,
I would fain propose what appears to me no dif-
ficult plan : — Were the colleges and academies
more open to the middling class of the community,
I feel certain that incalculable advantages would
result therefrom. I feel even certain, that the pre-
sent system of taxing the commercial part of the
community might be turned to a great moral ad-
vantage; increase of education, consequently of mo-
rality, civilization, and harmony among all classes,
would be the direct result of my plan.

IRKUTSK. ](ij

A first-rate merchant in Ilussia is allowed by
law to trade upon a capital of 100,000 roubles,
or more ; for this privilege be pays a direct tax of
five or ten per cent per annum. Now, supposing
each merchant so situated to be possessed of a fa-
mily of children, and that he were to put them to
the college of nobles, and to receive from the crown
500 roubles per annum for each, (in other words,
that for each male child put to the college for edu-
cation, 500 roubles should be deducted from his
direct tax as a first-rate merchant,) a sum quite
sufficient to maintain them in a respectable man-
ner, I am certain the consequences would be fa-
vourable to education, and to good feeling between
the high and middling classes of Russia. When
a boy had been five or seven years at college, from
the age of twelve, and had passed a certain exa-
mination, I would have him allowed to trade as a
first-rate merchant for half the tax that other mer-
chants paid, whether five or ten per cent ; and
when such young man, who had passed such exa-
mination, should become the father of a family,
and followed up the maxim of putting his children
to a public college, they should be allowed to trade
free of any tax. This is holding out an incitement
to, not compelling education : nor should it stop
here ; — when a boy had won two or three of the
academic prizes, he ought to be entitled to the
rank of nobility, a circumstance which would have
great weight in Russia.

Every class of the mercantile community of the
Russian empire might be so placed as to induce
them to educate their children in a becoming and
useful manner ; a want of this education is the
only barrier between them and the nobility. Boys
when at school, whether plebeian or patrician, form

166 VEIICHOLENSK.

a friendship for one another ; and where is there
more sacred friendship ? With them, all little con-
siderations are laid aside for more solid enjoyments.
The noble would find his level as a man, while the
man would reach to be noble ; nor beard, nor cloak,
nor pride, nor compulsive measures, would be re-
sorted to ; on the contrary, the onus would rest
with the people, than whom none have a greater
desire, or a greater capacity, to learn any thing and
every thing ; for all classes of Russians, so far from
being above being taught, offer every advantage to
the more enlightened foreigner, be he Jew, Turk,
or Christian.

My stay in Irkutsk was but a week, when, be-
ing furnished with a fresh Cossack, and with every
assistance I desired to enable me to reach the river
Lena, I set out, a little melancholy at parting with
such kind friends ; at seven miles I had a last view
of the city. The country became very elevated,
and the road lay over hill and dale as far as the
fifth station. With the exception of some little
corn, the land is one uninterrupted pasture. The
inhabitants, Russians, are pretty numerous, and
their villages, though small, occur at frequent in-
tervals. The post-houses are good and convenient
halting places.

Having crossed the river Lena, I soon reached
Vercholensk, a large and populous town on its right
bank, distant 150 miles from Irkutsk. The road
is by a dangerous precipice, which is descended
by horses at a prodigious rate ; and on the ascent
both driver and traveller must dismount and put
their shoulders to the wheel ; yet accidents are of
rare occurrence. The opposite bank of the river
is highly cultivated and picturesque. The com-
munication by land ceases here, a circumstance at

K1KENGA. 167

which I was not a little rejoiced, longing to be
again upon my own element. I soon procured a
canoe and a couple of hands, who, with the Cos-
sack and myself, paddled down the stream for
eighty miles, to the village of Ustillga. The banks
of the river are lofty and well wooded, and present
some agreeable scenery. Numerous villages with
their rye fields are scattered among the valleys,
each invariably attended by its own little stream.

Proceeding day and night in my open canoe, I
soon reached Kirenga. The weather was cold, the
scenery, though ever changing, was always moun-
tainous ; numerous islands were scattered about
the river, whose streams ran at about one and a
half or two knots per hour ; I generally made 100
to 120 miles during each day's progress, and,
wherever I went, fared well from the hospitality
of the Russian colonists, as well as from that of
my friends at Irkutsk, who had provided me, ac-
cording to the Russian proverb, with plenty of
bread and salt. This simple-sounding provision
included also some fine partridges, a hare, a large
piece of roast beef, and a quantity of meat pies ;
not omitting wine and rum. A traveller in Rus-
sia, whether native or foreigner, on taking leave of
his friends previous to his departure, uniformly
finds at his lodgings all the provisions requisite for
his journey, with another lodging pointed out at
some friend's upon his next route, for as long as
he pleases. Indeed, I have no doubt, as the sequel
will justify the assertion, that a man may travel
through the Russian empire, as long as his conduct
is becoming, without wanting any thing — not even
horses and money ; excepting only the civilized
parts between the capitals.

The villages leading to Kirensk are from fifteen

168 KlRENSk.

to eighteen miles apart. It has the name of a citv,
containing near one hundred dwellings, and five
hundred inhabitants, with three churches and a
monastery ; the situation is pleasant, but not other-
wise noticeable. I staid in it only a few hours, to
enjoy the hospitality of the town-major, who felt
inclined to try the effect of rye brandy upon me
From it I gained about five or six miles towards
the first Tongousian village, when the canoe fill-
ed, and we were obliged to pursue the journey by
land, creeping round the bluffs, which jet out into
them.

Over these poor Tongousians the Cossack exer-
cised his authority in such a manner, that I really
felt as much pain as if the same chastisement had
been inflicted upon me. The spirit of despotism
which characterises the Cossacks is infamous ; it
is infinitely greater, and infinitely more dreaded
by the poor aborigines, than the power of the go-
vernor-general ; they seem to have imbibed their
power more from habit than from right. At pre-
sent there is a law against the exercise of this atro-
cious abuse ; but I doubt very much whether the
government, in this distant part of the empire, can
carry it into execution. The Cossacks cannot be
dispensed with ; they are a necessary evil ; no of-
ficer, whatever may be his rank, not even a go-
vernor-general, can do any thing without their aid
— no horses, provisions, or assistance can be pro-
cured, no orders can be given, no punishment can
be inflicted, no courier dispatched ; in short, a
Cossack is every thing, and therefore in Siberia he
is feared. Whatever may be their general charac-
ter, and I admit that the terms Russian Cossack
and Spanish Don are synonimous, I fear upon the
high-roads it is much sullied, and still more so here.
3

VITTIM. 169

because they have to do with the ignorant, obsti"
nate, and criminal.

Pursuing my voyage I reached Vittim, which
is half way to Yakutsk, upon the eighth day ; the
banks of the river are, within the last twenty-five
years, increased in population in the proportion of
from three to five, according to a comparison with
Mr Sauer's journal, which I had with me. Pro-
digious forests of wood are on each side of the
river, consisting of pine, fir, larch, alder, and pop-
lar ; but from Kirensk all cultivation had ceased,
except that of vegetables, and they are but scantily
raised ; cattle are, however, very plentiful, and of
a tine sort ; bread is of the same price as at Irkutsk,
namely, forty pounds for two shillings. This is
owing to the consideration of government in for-
warding flour at their expense for the benefit and
maintenance of the poor.

At Vittim I was first overtaken by the ice float-
ing down the river, yet not so as to incommode
me, and I had enjoyed the luxury of fine autumnal,
though cold, weather. From Vittim to Djerbin-
sky or Jerbat are three hundred miles, which I
reached in four days. The stages are very long, and
ought to be reduced, being a very heavy pull when
going against the stream ; but indeed there is no-
thing that these hardy people will not do without
murmuring. Sometimes the boat was so much en-
tangled in the ice, that the poor fellows were com-
pelled to strip and track her, up to their waists in
water, while the atmosphere was at 5° of cold ; I
could perceive tliat they suffered a good deal in
tm i sequence, for, upon their return to the boat,
they could not tell which part of their body to re-
store first to proper animation. Their great resort,
I invariably found, was to take a mouthful of smoke

VOL. i. p

170 DJERBINSKY, OR JERBAT.

from tlieir pipe, — not, however, of tobacco ; the
greater part at least being birch- wood dust, or fine
shavings, mixed with a very scanty portion of to-
bacco, the latter article being extremely dear ; if
to this luxury can be added, however small, a drop
of brandy, they will cheerfully, and even thank-
fully, undergo the repetition of the suffering. At
one of these villages, I was requested by the inha-
bitants to proceed by land instead of by water,
they agreeing to supply me with horses ; of course
I complied with their request, as it would save the
labour and attendance of one mam, at a season of
the year when they require all the spare time pos-
sible, viz. the winter fishery. Upon my arrival at
the next station, nor horses nor a boat could be
procured, except at the habitation of a Yakuti knez,
whither we proceeded with a request to be supplied.
The old gentleman pertinaciously refused me,
malgre the presence of a Cossack, who had full
powers to call out any and every assistance in my
behalf; the knez excused his non-compliance with
the order, by observing, that it was in behalf of a
captain of the navy, of which rank he could not
deem me, with only a nankeen coat and long beard
— the emblems of a Russian pedlar. The Cossack
was willing and anxious, by the force of his baton,
to have brought the prince to an unconditional
compliance, until I determined upon again having
Tecourse to my own independent mode of travel-
ling, at least till I could meet with some more wil-
ling friend to forward me on.

My knapsack again restored to its deserted abode,
I coasted the river to Jerbat, where there is a cave
on the left bank of the river, much venerated by
the Yakuti. I ascended with great difficulty the
rugged steep leading to it. The roof certainly pre-

THE TONUGOUSSAY, OR TONGOUSIANS. 171

sented a beautiful appearance, being illuminated
by what may figuratively be termed chandeliers ;
formed, no doubt, by the water, which, making its
way through the apertures above, there freezes,
and hangs in icicles from the top of the roof. The
scene is very brilliant, but the effect is marred by
a projecting crag of rock which overhangs the
mouth of the cave, and prevents the eye from
taking any other than a horizontal view of it. The
air emitted from it was the chilliest I had ever felt.
At Jerbat is the line which divides the Tongousian
villages from those of the Yakuti.

The Tongousians inhabit divers parts of Siberia
equally distant and distinct ; from the shores of the
Yenissey, Lena, and Amour, to those of the Och-
ota and Omekon, and the mountains about Idgiga.
They are nearly all wanderers, and rarely to be
seen in any mechanical or subservient employ-
ment. They are classed into Forest and Desert
Tongousi. The former occupy themselves in fish-
ing and the chase, having but few rein-deer ; the
latter subsist entirely by the breeding of those ani-
mals, and wander from pasture to pasture with
their flocks, tents, &c. A very few of them have
received baptism ; the rest are idolaters. Their lan-
guage is said to be Mantshur, from whom they all,
no doubt, descended, as may be inferred by the
peculiarity of their eyes, being elongated and far
apart. They are characteristically honest and
friendly, robbery being considered by them as un-
pardonable. I was myself a witness of their hos-
pitality or improvidence, for they seem to have no
thought of the future, and therefore readily share
what they have killed ; yet it is strange that no-
thing will induce them to kill a rein-deer for their
own consumption, unless the party is rich, till they

172 T0NG0US1ANS.

have been eight days without food ; the act is then
considered justifiable. They bear fatigue, cold, and
privations, to an extraordinary degree. They are
sensible of, and thankful for, kind treatment, but
will permit no one to abuse them. To strike a
Tongousian, is, indeed, a great crime, and often
leads to fatal consequences, as, in that case, they
do not consider their word as sacred, but justifia-
bly to be broken. They are exceedingly irascible,
and can be done nothing with but by good words ;
and this I had frequent occasions of proving, through,
generally, my own fault.

Their persons are small, and rather delicate in
appearance ; their features regular, and somewhat
pleasing. With these fair traits of character they
are filthy to an extreme, eating and drinking any
thing, however loathsome ; and the effluvia of their
persons is putridity itself. They are considered
good soldiers, and are excellent marksmen, either
with the bow or rifle. The dress of either sex is
nearly the same as that of the other Tartar nations,
differing chiefly in their mode of ornamenting it,
and consists of trowsers of the rein-deer skin, with
the hair inside, and stockings and boots of the same
animal ; the latter made from the legs. A waist-
coat or jacket also of leather, sometimes lined with
white foxes' or with hares' skins, supplies the place
of a thick sort of short surtout-coat of double lea-
ther without the bair ; and lastly, for the severity
of winter, of a single or double frock with hair in
and outside, the two leather sides being together.
A warm cap and large gloves, with sometimes a
guard for the breast, of white fox, called nagrood-
nick, viz. breast-cover, and a comforter round the
neck, formed of the tails of the squirrel ; such is
their costume, which is almost wholly furnished

OLEKMINSK. 173

from the skins of rein- deer. Foxes' skins serve for
caps and linings, and a wolf's is considered valuable,
as the warmest of all outside garments. They have
also a guard for the forehead, ears, nose, and chin.
Their beds are made of a bear's skin, or of the large
rein- deer's, with a blanket from the same animal,
lined with the warmest fur, and in shape like a
bag, as the feet are completely enclosed ; an axe,
a knife, wooden spoon, and kettle, constitute their
only utensils ; the first is a sine qua non, and a
pipe of tobacco, with a glass of spirits, their highest
luxury. Their modes of dress, and general mode
of living, &c. they have in common, more or less,
with all other Siberian nations, whether the Tchukt-
chi, Yukagires, Koriaks, Yakuti, or Kamtchatdales.
There is no other difference amongst them than in
the embroidery of their clothes, or the richness
or poverty of the wearers ; and these I shall take
occasion to notice in treating of a different tribe.

Having parted with the Tongousians, for a long
time I was delivered over to the Yakuti. In three
days I reached Olekminsk, the last thirty miles on
horseback, my Cossack being quite knocked up
from cold and want of exercise. I reached the
place early in the evening, and went to the abode
of the commissary, who was absent upon his an-
nual excursion for the collecting of the yasack or
tribute. His house was, however, made my home,
and there I passed the following day very agree-
ably, his pretty, interesting, and modest daughter
of fifteen doing the honours of the house. I re-
ceived visits from the postmaster, secretary, priests,
and merchants; among the latter was a young
Frenchman, who had been banished for some heavy
crime, but, by his subsequent good conduct, had
p2

174 YAKUTSK.

been admitted to the rights of a citizen, and is now
carrying on trade at Olekminsk.

From Olekminsk to Yakutsk is about four hun-
dred miles, which, except the two last stages, I
completed id the canoe. It was on the 1st Octo-
ber that I left, and the 6th when I arrived. The
weather proved very cold, and snow fell heavily ;
the atmosphere dark, and having every appearance
of winter ; yet, upon the whole, the season is con-
sidered backward, as on the 1st of October the
Lena is generally frozen over, and in three weeks
more admits of travellers with sledges ; but at this
time I was enabled to reach within fifty or sixty
miles by water, although with some risk and diffi-
culty. A noble chain of hills extend along the right
bank of the river, with bold, precipitous bluffs run-
ning into the stream, and with their dark-green
firs enlivening the otherwise dreary aspect at the
present time. The left bank assumed, from Olek-
minsk, a low swampy, but rich pasture appearance,
the hills taking a new direction. Upon approach-
ing Yakutsk, the villages become less frequent,
and the stations all longer, extending even to thirty-
five and forty miles, yet the natives do every thing
with cheerfulness. Nothing of any considerable
attraction occurred to me, yet I felt as if existing
upon the beautiful prospects and river scenery,
which cannot fail of creating a most lively interest.

I reached Bistack, and was here surrounded by
the ice, and the boat frozen in. Thus situated, I
prosecuted the remaining part of the journey on
land ; not, however, before I had encountered some
peril and much difficulty in making good a land-
ing ; for although the boat was surrounded with
ice, still there were several fissures between us and
the shore, and which could only be passed by

YAKUTSK. 175

wading through the water, no pleasant circumstance
witli 12° and 15° of Reaumur's frost. I, how-
ever, bore them cheerfully, conscious that a warm
yourte, and a hearty welcome, were always await-
ing my arrival. The same kindness of heart which
had provided me with a boat to descend the stream,
procured me also a horse to ride, and, in the even-
ing of the 6th of October, I found myself in the
hospitable and comfortable residence of his excel-
lency, the governor of Yakutsk, Captain Minitsky
of the Russian navy, who had passed many years
in the English service, and three of them with my
cousin, Captain N. D. Cochrane. In him I found a
most worthy, upright, and liberal friend, and warm-
ly interested for my success, to ensure which, every
thing I desired was provided for me ; although it
will hereafter appear that what I now considered
as a most provident dress, having been put on in a
warm room, turned out to be indeed a poor tit- out
for such a journey.

Yakutsk, although a considerable place of trade,
and a great pass for the American Company, is ill
built, and more scattered even than Irkutsk, in the
most exposed of all bleak situations, on the left
bank of the Lena, which is in summer, four miles,
and winter, two miles and a half wide, appearing,
as it really is, one of the finest streams in the world,
running a course of more than three thousand miles
from its source, near Irkutsk, to the Frozen Sea,
which it enters by several mouths. The stream is
by no means a rapid one, but rather may be called
lazy, as its name appears to import. There are
seven thousand inhabitants in the city, of whom
the greater part are Russians, and the rest Yakuti.
Half-a-dozen churches, the remains of an old for-
tress, a monastery, and some tolerable buildings,

176 YAKUTSK.

give it some decency of appearance ; yet I could
not help thinking it one of the most dreary look-
ing places I had seen, though I was in the enjoy-
ment of every comfort, and therefore the less dis-
posed to complain.

Yakutsk is not an independent government, but
belongs to that of Irkutsk. It has, however, a
vice-governor, and an independent chancery of its
own, who regulate all its affairs, making a mere
formal report. It contains, scattered over a wonder-
ful extent of territory, about one hundred and
eighty-five thousand inhabitants, composed of Rus-
sians, Yakuti, a few Tongousi, and fewer Yuka-
gires. Fifty thousand of the whole pay tribute,
which is in furs, mostly sables. Those of Vittim
and Olekma are considered the finest, blackest, and
smallest to be met with, a pair reaching as high as
three and four hundred roubles, or from fifteen to
twenty pounds sterling. Each taxable individual
pays one quarter of a sable, or, in general cases,
each family one sable, which, if it cannot be pro-
cured, is compromised by the payment of thirty
shillings, reducing the tribute per head to seven
shillings and sixpence, as that of a Russian is ten
shillings. Thus the Russian pays nominally more,
but actually less, than the aborigines ; the former
pay padoushnie, the latter yasack — the former al-
ways money, the latter furs. The greatest part of
the population subjected to the government of
Yakutsk live on the banks of the Lena, and small
streams running into it. No less than twenty thou-
sand families certainly reside on them. The clear
revenue derived is half a million of roubles, or
twenty-five thousand pounds. The trade carried
on by its numerous pedlars is very considerable,
from the immense quantity of the skins of all sorts.

YAKUTSK. 177

Tobacco, tea, sugar, spirits, nankeens, cottons,
kettles, knives, and the like, constitute the cargoes
of the traders ; for which they receive the skins of
bears, wolves, sables, river otters, martins, foxes,
lynxes, squirrels, and ermines, at very unfair prices.
At Yakutsk, however, the value of them is well
known. Bear skins, twenty and twenty-five shil-
lings ; sables, from thirty to one hundred and fifty
shillings ; a sea otter, from ten to thirty pounds ;
river ditto, thirty and forty shillings; a black fox,
from five to twenty and even thirty pounds ; red
and grey fox, two and three pounds ; fiery red,
fifteen shillings ; the white or arctic fox, five or six
shillings, and the blue fox, eight or ten shillings ;
squirrels and ermines, sixpence to one shilling ;
wolves, ten shillings to a guinea, while I have my-
self given seven guineas for a black wolf at Omsk ;
the martins which come from the coast of America
are worth five or six shillings. These are the prices
at Yakutsk, but they are purchased of the natives
by the pedlars for goods enhanced one hundred and
fifty per cent, and for one-half the price for which
they sell at Yakutsk ; returning, in most cases, a
clear profit of two and three hundred per cent, be-
sides that the traders live upon the poor aborigines
during the traffic.

I remained in Yakutsk three weeks, making the
needful preparations for my journey during so se-
vere a season of the year. In particular, I looked
to the nature of my dress, for the accounts of the
cold which I should have to encounter were such,
that I considered myself exposed to death, with-
out even the satisfaction of expecting to be buried,
from the eternal frost that prevails here. Could,
however, this feeling be gratified, the satisfaction
would be materially increased, by the knowledge

178 YAKUTSK.

that the body itself would enter the next world in
the same state that it left this ; for every where to
the north of Yakutsk, the earth, two feet and a half
below the surface, is perpetually frozen, conse-
quently a carcase buried in it at that depth must
remain perpetually the same.

I determined, however, to start the day that the
Lena should become passable on the ice. In the
meantime, I was engaged in such society as Ya-
kutsk could boast ; but if I could say little in this
respect in favour of Irkutsk, I should almost be si-
lent regarding Yakutsk, where, except the chief's
wife, and those of one or two of the merchants,
there is no society, and indeed scarcely any one of
those can be spoken to by a traveller, especially
by one whose long beard and haggard looks might
well frighten them from me ; they were, however,
safe on another account, namely, my extreme ig-
norance of the Russian language.

The way I passed my time at Mr Minitsky's
was sufficiently regular : I rose early, and always
went early to bed ; occupied, while daylight last-
ed, with bringing up my journal ; then at a game
at billiards ; afterwards at dinner, always on the
most excellent fare, with wine, rum, and other de-
licacies. In the evening, with a party of the na-
tives, male and female, at the house of the chief;
the ladies, to all appearance, dumb, not daring to
utter a word, and solely employed in cracking their
nuts, — a very small species of the cedar nut, which
abounds in such quantities as to be made an article
of trade to Okotsk and Kamtchatka. I am not ex-
aggerating, when I say that half-a-dozen of females
will sit down and consume each many hundreds of
these nuts, and quit the house without having
spoken a word — unless a stolen one, in fear it should

YAKUTSK. 179

be heard. Should tea and cakes be offered, they
will sip two, three, or four cups, as long as the
samavar (a sort of copper tea-urn) has water in it.
The manner of their using sugar-candy with tea,
though perhaps not entirely singular, for the Chi-
nese have the same fashion, is remarkably ridicu-
lous ; each individual takes a small lump, which he
grates between his teeth in such a manner as only
to consume a very small part of it ; and thus, al-
though the person has drunk three or more cups,
the greater portion of sugar remains, and, being
placed upon the inverted cup, finds its way back
to the sugar-dish when the party has broke up ; so
that, probably, at the feast on the following day,
a lady or gentleman may happen to get his old
friend back again. Nor is it with sugar-candy alone
that this system of economy is adopted. Biscuits,
cakes, &c. on being presented, are received and
placed behind them, on the chair, to keep warm,
and their fragments also are ultimately restored to
the basket. Thus luxuries of these kinds are ren-
dered cheap, for the custom is general, and I have
often witnessed the fact, not indeed at Mr Minitsky's,
but at other respectable houses, the inmates of which
knew no better, and were ignorant of the chiefs
disliking it.

While the ladies are thus cracking their nuts,
staring, and listening, and speechless, the gentle-
men are employed in drinking rum or rye-brandy
punch, as their tastes may dictate. Nor is even
good rum a scarce article here, coming as it does
by way of Kamtchatka. I was one feast-day on a
visit to a respectable old gentleman, one of the
council ; there were no chairs, but a long table was
spread, with fish pies, a piece of roast beef, boiled
deer's tongues, and some wild berries in a tart.

180 YAKUTSK.

The first thing presented is a glass of brandy, which
I refused, knowing the chief to have 6ent some good
wine ; this I was offered, and accepted, when I was
told by my friend the chief, that it was not the
custom to accept any thing of that kind the first
time, but to await the third. Relying upon the
chief's better knowledge of the Siberian world, I
refused the next glass of wine, which was offered
me twice, and I need not say I ultimately lost it,
probably from the practice of economising good
wine in a place where it can seldom be procured.

Great parade is kept up in this part of the world
with respect to rank, and no lady visits the wife of
the chief or vice-governor without kissing her hand ;
while the latter sits motionless upon the sofa, with-
out making the least acknowledgment of such a
condescension. The same custom was also esta-
blished at Irkutsk with Governor Treskin s wife,
who, being the mother of Mrs. Minitsky, of course
initiated her daughter into the mysteries of her im-
portance : she probably finds a sad falling off when
at St Petersburg. This absurd custom is carried
so far, that the priests are compelled to offer
thanks and prayers for them, individually, every
Sunday at church. Mr Minitsky is, however, a
good man, and an exceedingly clever governor,
equalled by few in Siberia ; his situation is, of
course, a good one, and could have been made
equal to his utmost desires by fraud, trade, extor-
tion, and corruption, had he felt so inclined. But,
latterly, the conduct of the governor-general Spe-
ranski has put all the people in office, in Siberia,
upon the qui vive.

That bribery is still carried on to great excess
there can be no doubt, nor is it possible for any
man or men to prevent it ; it is the practice, and
0

YAKUTSK. 181

carries here an appearance of right or law. It is
the custom of Siberia, that the chiefs are allowed
to receive presents on their names', or their saints',
day. As an instance of this, a new governor of a
province, who could not reach in time to be pre-
sent at the feast of the commissary, was willing to
make a good beginning. He accordingly sent an
express to the commissary regretting the absence,
at the same time forwarding to him a pair of ele-
gantly mounted pistols, and reminding him that
the governor's name-day would take place that
week, at which his attendance, &c. The old mi-
serly commissary, who had hitherto resisted the
custom of paying such compliments, could not re-
sist such a challenge, and attended the feast at the
cost of ten thousand roubles. Here is an instance
of a governor openly offering a bribe, as well as of
openly demanding one. They are but the repre-
sentatives of much worse, as I shall hereafter have
an opportunity of observing.

My dresses completed, and the river having, ac-
cording to custom, been passed and declared closed,
I packed up my knapsack and other baggage, and
I was provided also with a couple of bags of black
biscuit through the kindness of my host, with a
piece of roast beef, a few dried fish, half-a-dozen
pounds of tea, and twenty pounds of sugar-candy,
besides fifty pounds of tobacco, and a keg of vod-
key (corn-brandy), a most indispensable article on
such a journey, whether for my own or others'
consumption. I had besides a pipe, flint, steel, and
axe, and, what was of most importance, a Cossack
companion, who indeed proved invaluable to me.
My destination was Nishney Kolymsk, distant
about one thousand eight hundred miles, which
were to be travelled over in the coldest season of

vol. i. q 6

182 YAKUTSK.

the year, and in what is esteemed the coldest part
of the north-east of Asia. All this I heeded no-
thing, and provided, as I thought, with warm
clothing, considered myself as proof against at least
50° of Reaumur's frost. The spirit thermometer
at Yakutsk, measured at Mr Minitsky's house,
was 27° of cold of Reaumur, or nearly the same
number of degrees below the zero of Fahrenheit,
yet I walked about the streets of Yakutsk with
only my nankeen surtout, trowsers of the same
material, shoes, and worsted stockings ; a flannel
waistcoat which had lost its principal virtue, was
the only warm clothing ; yet I can truly say I was
not at all incommoded. This fact, which can be
testified by Governor Minitsky, now in St Peters-
burg, alike surprised him as well as every other
person ; nor was my conduct upon my return the
less careless of the effects to be apprehended from
exposure to such very severe weather. At Irkutsk,
in the month of January, with 40° of Reaumur, I
have gone about, late and early, either for exercise
or amusement, to balls or dinners, yet did I never
use any other kind of clothing than I do now in
the streets of London. Thus my readers must not
suppose my situation to have been so desperate.
It is true the natives felt surprised, and pitied my
apparently forlorn and hopeless situation, not seem-
ing to consider that when the mind and body are
in constant motion, the elements can have little
effect upon the person. I feel confident that most
of the miseries of human life are brought on by
want of a solid education — of firm reliance on a
bountiful and ever- attendant Providence — of a spi-
rit of perseverance — of patience under fatigue and
privations, and a resolute determination to hold to
the point of duty, never to shrink while life retain?

DEPARTURE FROM YAKUTSK. 183

a spark, or while " a shot is in the locker," as sai-
lors say. Often indeed have I felt myself in dif-
ficult and trying circumstances, from cold, or hun-
ger, or fatigue ; although, thank God, not to the
degree which my unfortunate brother officer Cap-
tain Franklin experienced, yet still to a degree be-
yond what would, in England, be considered suf-
ficient to cure me of my wandering propensities ;
and I may affirm, with gratitude, that I have never
felt happier than even in the encountering of these
difficulties. Thus, in the present case, I had no
second parka, or frock ; no knee-preservers, blan-
ket, or bed ; an indifferent pair of gloves, and a
cold cap ; no guard for my chin, ears, or nose ; in
short, I was not properly provided, which I found
out too late, and attribute the preservation of my
life solely to the strength of my constitution, which
I have never seen equalled to this hour.

It was on the last day of October that I depart-
ed from Yakutsk with my Cossack, the thermome-
ter being at 27° of frost. I had, through the kind-
ness of my friend, Mr Minitsky, been provided
with a couple of sledges, and every recommenda-
tion within his power. It is impossible for me to
describe the different emotions which agitated my
breast as I quitted the last limit of civilization, of
the friends I had made, and of all that could attach
me to society ; for although I felt a confidence of
meeting with hospitality and every assistance I
could desire, still, to a sensible mind, the enterprise
was formidable, going as I did alone, and ignorant
even of the Russian language, much more that of
the Tartar tribes. For the means of meeting the
latter difficulty, I was indebted to the numerous
people who spoke English, French, and German,
one of whom I met at almost every halting-place,

184 ALDAN.

when the dulness of a Cossack interpreter could
hardly afford me the means of amusement, much
less of information.

The cold I suffered in the sledge, and the jolt-
ing movement attending the passage of the ice on
the Lena, now crumbled by the stream into hil-
locks, soon roused me, and I jumped out, prefer-
ring to walk ; and though I had my feet almost
frozen while in the sledge, the exercise, and weight
of my clothes, soon brought me to a state of per-
spiration by the time I had reached fifteen miles,
when I halted for the night in a pleasant yourte.

The next, a cold and windy day, I resumed my
journey, alternately walking and riding on horse-
back, to escape at once from fatigue and cold, and
measured forty miles over a level but well wooded
country. I felt much pleased with the attentions
of the Yakuti, who provided me, as I arrived, with
milk, meat, and not seldom with clotted cream, at
times also with wild raspberries, called here ma-
liena, immersed in it. Such were my delicacies
until I reached the banks of the river Aldan, a no-
ble stream running into the Lena. I had passed
a small place called Miera, where are two churches,
for the performance of divine worship in the Yakut
dialect, at which, although I understood nothing of
it, I attended. A more dreary looking place I
have never seen. It overhangs the banks of a con-
siderable lake. The situation in summer may be
better ; but what can be otherwise than dreary in
Siberia during the winter ? The latter part of the
journey to Aldan was through romantic valleys,
whose numerous streams and lakes supply a great
abundance of fish. They are also studded with
numerous traps, of various descriptions, for foxes,
bears, sables, and wolves ; and the quantity of ani-

ALDAN. 185

mals of the chase is equal to the demand. There
appeared a considerable population, and many
wealthy knezes or princes, who, wherever I met
them, were kind and hospitable. I reached Aldan
the fourth day. the distance being about one hun-
dred and fifty miles ; the last day's journey sixty.
My face was suffering greatly from the effects of
a cold wind.

At Aldan I staid two days, while horses were
procuring for the post which I was accompanying ;
but finding them still tardy, I made the prince un-
derstand, that unless I had them next morning, we
must return to Yakutsk ; and the better to persuade
him of my intention, I availed myself of a letter in
English to Mr Minitsky, the contents of which
really were to thank him for his kindness and hos-
pitality to me, but which I represented as a letter
of complaint against the Yakut prince. The lat-
ter took it, though apparently in the greatest ap-
prehension of its consequences, and actually de-
livered it himself, at Yakutsk, by way of atone-
ment. Mr Minitsky repeated the circumstance
upon my return. Poor fellow ! however I might
turn the matter for my own benefit, little intention
had I of making a complaint, where indeed there
was no fault. My letter, however, had the effect
of procuring horses on the third day, and we de-
parted in high glee, as the same beasts were to
carry us to Baralass, distant one hundred and fifty
miles, which will be the less wonder, when it is
observed, that the horses go loaded with two hun-
dred weight from Yakutsk to Kolyma, and back
again, through roads and over a country deemed
almost impassable. So tremendous a journey is it
considered, and so difficult of accomplishment by
one and the same horse, that the charge for each
Q2

186 ALDAN.

animal to go to the Kolyma, is more than equiva-
lent to the value of the horse at Yakutsk. Go-
vernment pay by contract for each load to the
Kolyma, ninety, while the merchants pay one hun-
dred and twenty, roubles ; for the return, govern-
ment pay forty- five, and the merchants sixty, rou-
bles. Upon the outward journey the horse carries
from two hundred and forty to three hundred ;
while upon the return, not more than one hundred
and fifty pounds weight. The common value of a
horse at Yakutsk, for this work, is from seventy-
five to ninety roubles ; but there are horses whose
owners have refused from six to ten thousand rou-
bles ; — a prodigious sum in this part of the world.
I believe there are not many instances of a horse
having taken two loads, and returned again to
Yakutsk from the Kolyma, and no instance of three
loads. This is no depreciation of the value of the
Yakuti's horses, which are of a very fine though
small breed ; I consider their powers as inferior to
none of their own size, and might adduce, as in-
stances of it, that a Yakut will, for a considerable
wager, ride his horse from two hundred to two
hundred and fifty versts in twenty-four hours. I
think in a late instance three hundred versts, equal
to one hundred and seventy miles, have been per-
formed by one horse within twenty-four hours, not
by any violent exertion, but by regular trotting,
which would astonish the sporters of Old England.
Nor is a Yakut behind-hand with such sporter in
betting ; I never saw a people with more spirit of
gambling than these, who are otherwise ignorant.
The very contracts which the Yakuti make with
the government to forward on their stores or pro-
visions, are often lost at a game of cards ; that is,
the money to be paid for such contract is put in

ALDAN. 187

opposition to the execution of it — a most serious
difference.

On the 6th of November I crossed the Aldan,
and breakfasted at a solitary yourte (at ten miles),
completing in the evening thirty miles, where we
halted in a cabin about ten feet square. Had it,
however, been much worse or smaller, I must have
felt thankful, for I had been severely pinched by
the effects of the cold and the wind in my face.
A good fire, a cup of tea, and a sound slumber,
with pleasant dreams, perfectly refreshed me by
the ensuing morning. The country had of late
been level, but at twenty miles I became enve-
loped in a lofty chain of mountains, which I had
been for some time gradually ascending, and which
are called the Toukoulan chain, from the word
Touku, which, in the Yakut language, signifies
" noisy ;" as indeed the river of that name does roar
down its precipitous banks. In the same chain
also the Yana has its source. We halted for the
night at the foot of a mountainous peak, sheltered
from the cold north wind ; and as this was the first
night which I was to pass in the open air, I shall
describe the manner of it, in order that it may be
known how far (contrary to my calculations) our
situation was susceptible even of comfort.

The first thing on my arrival was to unload the
horses, loosen their saddles or pads, take the bridle
out of their mouths, and tie them to a tree in such
a manner that they could not eat. The Yakuti
then with their axes proceeded to fell timber, while
I and the Cossack, with our lopatkas, or wooden
spades, cleared away the snow, which was general-
ly a couple of feet deep. We then spread branches
of the pine tree, to fortify us from the damp or cold
earth beneath us ; a good fire was now soon made,

188 FROM ALDAN

and each bringing a leathern bag from the baggage,
furnished himself with a seat. We then put the
kettle on the fire, and soon forgot the sufferings
of the day. At times the weather was so cold
that we were almost obliged to creep into the fire ;
and as I was much worse off than the rest of the
party for warm clothing, I had recourse to every
stratagem I could devise to keep my blood in cir-
culation. It was barely possible to keep one side
of the body from freezing, while the other might
be said to be roasting. Upon the whole, I passed
the night tolerably well, although I was obliged to
get up five or six times to take a walk, or run for
the benefit of my feet. While thus employed, I
discovered that the Yakuti had drawn the fire from
our side to theirs, a trick which I determined to
counteract the following night. I should here
observe, that it is the custom of the Yakuti to get
to leeward of the fire, and then, undressing them-
selves, put the whole of their clothes as a shelter
for the outer side of their bodies, while the inner
side receives a thorough roasting from exposure to
the fire ; this plan also gives them the benefit of
the warmth of their own bodies. The thermome-
ter during the day had ranged from 20° to 25°,
according to the elevation of the sun.

The following day, at thirty miles, we again
halted in the snow, when I made a horse-shoe fire,
which I found had the effect I desired, of keep-
ing every part of me alike warm, and I actually
slept well without any other covering than my
clothes thrown over me, whereas before I had on-
ly the consolation of knowing that if I was in a
freezing state with one half of my body, the other
was meanwhile roasting to make amends. On the
third night I reached the foot of the mountainous

TO BAIMLASS. 189

pass which may be said to load to Northern Si-
beria. My route bad hitherto lain generally on
the banks of the Toukoulan, which runs along a
picturesque valley on the western range of the
mountains, and is well wooded with fir, larch, and
alder. Upon reaching thus far, I looked up at
what I had yet to perform, and, I confess, felt
astonished, not at the height, but how it could be
practicable to get up a slippery and almost track-
less road. However we commenced, and mainly
by preferring the deep snow, as I uniformly did,
at last gained the summit, but not without great
fatigue ; a horse could not cany a person up un-
der a considerable time, and it took me two hours
at least. We sat down, my Cossack and I, to gain
breath and wait for the Yakuti with the baggage,
in the mean time smoking a pipe ; but it was too
cold to remain ; we therefore prepared to descend.
As to keeping my feet, however, that was impos-
sible ; I therefore lay down, and slid to the bot-
tom of the most dangerous part, a feat for which
I had nearly paid dear, by coming in contact with
a horse which had taken the same expeditious mode
of descending. The path was so narrow, that one
error would have pitched me for ever into the abyss
of snow beneath ; and, although not deep, would
have prevented a return, unless I had fortunately
fallen with my feet downwards ; the half-frozen
surface of the snow serving in some manner to
bring the person up ; falling on one side I found
very dangerous, unless somebody was near to ren-
der assistance. I soon reached what I may term
a charity yourte, being erected by the community
in general for the accommodation and preservation
of travellers. It consists of a twelve feet square
room, with a small anteroom which serves as an

190 TO TABALAK.

entry, and may be properly termed a log-house,
having no window, unless a large opening in the
roof may be so termed. The centre is left to form
a neat hearth or fire-place, on the same level as
the sleeping places round it, which are six in num-
ber, and about eighteen inches off the ground,
leaving a narrow passage between the hearth and
bed places, which are formed of earth, boarded up
and planked over ; they were indeed very comfort-
able cells. Outside, the building is supported and
banked up with snow, and the roof is covered with
the same article, no fear being entertained of its
ever melting during the travelling season ; the only
inconvenience is from the smoke not having a free
outlet, unless the door is open, which makes it very
cold, and otherwise unpleasant.

We passed a tolerable night, in company with
some other travellers bound to Yakutsk, and next
morning resumed our journey in fine weather ; and
in this way, at the expiration of six days, we reach-
ed Baralass, alternately sleeping in snow or in an
uninhabited yourte, as our progress made it neces-
sary.

These charity yourtes are placed at an incon-
venient distance, being twenty-five miles asunder,
too great in bad weather, and too little in fine ;
twelve miles would be preferable, as travellers
would then always have a comfortable resting-
place at one or the other, at least where wood is
to be had. The country over which I had come
may be deemed on the whole very picturesque,
the road lying between two elevated ranges of
mountains ; the valleys exceedingly well wooded,
gradually diminishing as the summit is approach-
ed, where nothing but the purest frozen snow is to
be seen. There are also innumerable valleys,

THE VALLEY OF SARTAN. 191

emanating from the principal one, which produce
a beautiful effect, besides furnishing fine timber ;
but with all its beauty or grandeur of scenery, it
is dreary and desolate, not an individual dwelling
in the whole extent from Aldan to Baralass, a
distance equal to half the length of England.

I was civilly and hospitably received by a Yakut
prince, who gave me a supply of frozen milk, and
we resumed our journey to Tabalak ; we made
forty miles the first day, by a good road, the snow
being hard frozen. The little river Sartan runs
along the valley, and unites with the Yana. I
met a few hunting Yakuti, armed with bows and
arrows, some on horseback, and others on foot.
They appear an extremely civil people. The fol-
lowing day, with great labour, walking and riding
alternately, we reached forty miles; the horses
distressed, and the guides no better ; the weather,
snow and wind. For myself, I was much dis-
heartened, but I felt that I had no choice ; go I
must, for return I would not had things been ten
times worse. The third was the coldest day I had
experienced, the thermometer at twenty-eight and
thirty degrees below the freezing point of Reau-
mur, attended with some snow. We passed se-
veral habitations of the Yakuti, who invariably of-
fered us a lodging and provision for the day ; and
always appropriated to me the best berth, which
is in that corner of the room under the image, and
opposite to the fire. We now left the river and
valley of Sartan, crossed a considerable range of
hills to the eastward, and entered upon an open
country, where we got over more easily, the path
being very fair. Passing the banks of the Borou-
lak, we came in time to witness the result of one
of their field-sports, in the death of a deer, which

192 TABALAK.

had been levelled by a rifle-shot ; of course 1 had
the most luxurious part preseuted to me, being the
marrow of the fore-legs. I did not find it dis-
agreeable, though eaten raw and warm from life ;
in a frozen state I should consider it a great deli-
cacy. The animal was the size of a good calf,
weighing about 200 lbs. ; such a quantity of meat
may serve four or five good Yakuti for a single
meal, with whom it is ever famine or feast, glut-
tony or starvation.

We reached Tabalak on the sixth day from Ba-
ralass, the latter part of the road lying on the Bo-
roulak, varying from excellent to execrable, as we
changed from the river to the banks ; the distance
is two hundred and thirty miles. It is not badly
peopled, considering the access to it, as compared
with the former part of my journey. Here we
overtook an expedition bound to the river Kolyma,
for the purpose of discovery, under the charge of
the steersman. It consisted of one hundred and
fifty loaded horses, apparently in a sad state from
being too heavily laden. Independent of the ex-
pedition, there were on the road a great many ped-
lars bound to the same place, to be ready for the
fair of the Tchuktchi. What will not avarice or
ambition prompt man to ? But I am not the per-
son to be astonished, who am voluntarily travelling
the same road, without necessity or occasion. The
journey is at present rendered increasingly labo-
rious by numerous trees which have fallen ; whe-
ther from the effects of wind, the force of the wa-
ters, or natural decay. It is no uncommon thing,
during the spring, for the trees which have been
left by the winter's blasts or summer's deluge, to
salute the traveller in passing, at least if he should
happen to step upon the roots, which are almost
6

TABALAK. 193

level with the surface of the earth ; so perfectly
frozen is the whole country north of 60° of lati-
tude.

At Tabalak I had a pretty good specimen of the
appetite of a child, whose age (as I understood
from the steersman, who spoke some English and
less French) did not exceed five years. I had ob-
served the child crawling on the floor, and scrap-
ing up with its thumb the tallow-grease which fell
from a lighted candle, and I inquired in surprise
whether it proceeded from hunger or liking of the
fat. I was told from neither, but simply from the
habit in both Yakuti and Tongousi of eating when-
ever there is food, and never permitting any thing
that can be eaten to be lost. I gave the child a
candle made of the most impure tallow, a second,
and a third, — and all were devoured with avidity.
The steersman then gave him several pounds of
sour frozen butter ; this also he immediately con-
sumed ; lastly a large piece of yellow soap ; — all
went the same road ; but as I was convinced that
the child would continue to gorge as long as it
could receive any thing, I begged my companion
to desist as I had done.

As to the statement of what a man can or will
eat, either as to quality or quantity, I am afraid it
would be quite incredible ; in fact, there is no-
thing in the way of fish or meat, from whatever
animal, however putrid or unwholesome, but they
will devour with impunity, and the quantity only
varies from what they have, to what they can get.
I have repeatedly seen a Yakut or a Tongouse de-
vour forty pounds of meat in a day. The effect
is very observable upon them, for, from thin and
meagre-looking men, they will become perfectly
pot-bellied. Their stomachs must be differently

VOL. i. it

194< TABALAK.

formed from ours, or it would be impossible for them
to drink off at a draught, as they really do, their
tea and soup scalding hot, (so hot, at least, that an
European would have difficulty in even sipping at
it,) without the least inconvenience. I have seen
three of these gluttons consume a rein-deer at one
meal ; nor are they nice as to the choice of parts ;
nothing being lost, not even the contents of the
bowels, which, with the aid of fat and blood, are
converted into black puddings.

For an instance, in confirmation of this, no
doubt, extraordinary statement, I shall refer to the
voyages of the Russian admiral, Saritcheff. " No
sooner," he says, " had they stopped to rest or
spend the night, than they had their kettle on the
fire, which they never left until they pursued their
journey, spending the intervals for rest in eating,
and, in consequence of no sleep, were drowsy all
the next day." The admiral also says, " That
such extraordinary voracity was never attended
with any ill effects, although they made a practice
of devouring, at one meal, what would have killed
any other person. The labourers," the admiral says,
" had an allowance of four poods, or one hundred
and forty-four English pounds, of fat, and seventy-
two pounds of rye flour, yet in a fortnight they
complained of having nothing to eat. Not credit-
ing the fact, the Yakuti said that one of them was
accustomed to consume at home, in the space of a
day, or twenty-four hours, the hind quarter of a
large ox, ticenty pounds of fat, and a proportionate
quantity of melted butter for his drink. The appear-
ance of the man not justifying the assertion, the
admiral had a mind to try his gormandizing powers,
and for that purpose he had a thick porridge of rice
boiled down with three pounds of butter, weighing

TABALAK. 195

together twenty-eight pounds, and although the
glutton had already breakfasted^ yet did he sit down
to it with the greatest eagerness, and consumed the
whole without stirring from the spot ; and, except
that liis stomach betrayed more than ordinary ful-
ness, he showed no sign of inconvenience or in-
jury, but would have been ready to renew his
gluttony the following day." So much for the ad-
miral, on the truth of whose account I place per-
fect reliance.

Tabalak is the residence of a corporal of the
Cossacks, who has the charge of the post, and com-
mands over the surrounding Yakuti. He is mar-
ried, and appears to live here with tolerable com-
fort. The country round is studded with lakes,
producing abundance of fine fish. I staid a couple
of days to refresh myself, and, on the 22d of No-
vember, I resumed my journey. The weather was
now very cold, and my knees became exceedingly
painful, from sitting, as I thought, too much on
horseback ; consequently I walked more, in spite
of the fatigue, going over fifteen and twenty miles
a-day on foot, and always in those places where it
was difficult for the horse to carry me. The first
night we halted on the banks of a small lake, where
some fishermen were hauling their nets, although
the ice was twenty inches deep ; of course I be-
came entitled to a proportion of the fish caught, —
to insure which, I invariably partook of the fatigue.
Let who will make his appearance, of whatever
tribe or religion in Siberia, he will certainly be en-
titled to food if he partakes in the labour of catch-
ing it — I do not know a more humane custom.
The plan is indeed ingenious, and proves that " ne-
cessity is the mother of invention." Having fixed
upon the spot, a large hole is made in the most

196

FROM TAB ALA K.

distant part opposite to the place to which the fish
are to be hauled, and then holes are also made
from it on each side circularly towards the point
where the fish are to be caught : the distance from
hole to hole about fifteen or twenty feet ; the whole
of the net is then let down the first opening, as are
the ropes attached to the hauling of it; which ropes
are fastened to a long pole, which, under the ice,
conducts the ropes from hole to hole. Both ends
are taken up at the last and largest opening, and
the net is thus hauled, and a considerable quantity
of fish are caught. The following 6gure will re-
present the plan, the size and distance of the aper-
tures being proportioned to the size of the net and
length of the ropes : — ■

A, representing the opening where the net is first
sunk ; B, where it is hauled down , the other open-
ings, those made for communication ; and the space
within the other circle, the lake.

We halted at a most magnificent range of moun-
tains, running from east to west-north-west, with
lofty projecting bluffs and terrific precipices, on
lands gently rising from the thickly wooded basis
into elevated peaks and long extents of table lands,
in all the wild variety of nature. I regretted my
inability to sketch this beautiful view.

TO ZASHIVERSK. 197

The route lay along the river Tostak twenty- five
miles ; then crossing the mountains into the valley,
and on to the river Dogdoa, now deeply hid in
snow, and occasioning great labour to man and
horse. We were frequently obliged to halt and
clear away the snow with our spades, to enable the
animals to proceed, at other times to unload them,
and drag the baggage for two or three hundred
yards. In these cases all distinctions of rank are
laid aside, every person assisting and taking charge
of his own horse ; the only difference, a very slight
one, being in favour of the hindmost, and even that
was regulated, as the horses must take their turn
to lead, though the riders did not. When free from
this heavy work, we were almost as badly off, be-
ing then on the river, the state of which absolute-
ly prevented the progress of the horses, without
first chopping up the ice with hatchets, and then
carefully leading the animals. In short, such was
the nature of our road, that we had almost to carry
the horses through the snow, and support them over
ice so clear and slippery, that oil poured over it
could not have made it worse. With all the assis-
tance we could give, and even with that which we
rendered them in tying cloths under their feet, as
well as a rope above their fetlocks, of sufficient
length only to enable them to make short steps for-
ward, and preventing their sliding sideways, it was
found impossible to save them dreadful falls and
heavy strains ; they constantly fell groaning under
their loads, and it was really painful even to witness
their sufferings. Three days passed in this manner,
and I felt that if ever I had earned my coarse farp, it
was during that period. Two horses had been al-
lotted to me, and my plan was, to conduct one of
them over the worst part, tie him to a tree, and
r2

198 FROM TABALAK

then return for the other — and so on. The Yakuti
felt grateful for the willingness with which I took
my share of the labour.

The next part of our road lay along the little
rivers Kabbregah, Koudouronkui, Rasoka, and Ka-
raen-da-Maslo ; after which, leaving the moun-
tainous part, we got upon an extensive plain, and
reached a charity yourte very late, having been
obliged to abandon one of the horses. I was now
suffering much in my feet, on which the frozen per-
spiration had formed blisters, in which state I had
also to encounter water even upon the ice. This,
as k appears to me, is occasioned by the intenseness
of the frost contracting the ice, till, in the end, it
divides about the centre ; cold being of so peculiar
a quality, as in the first place to expand, and ulti-
mately to contract, all fluids it affects. The same
observation applies to the ground, which cracks
alike, whether from the effect of heat or cold ; in-
deed, so powerful is the congelation of water, that
it even splits mountains asunder — a fact which is
here every where visible. Many of these moun-
tains are of slate, and the rest appear but a com-
mon sort of rock and granite ; but on the banks of
the river Kamen-da- Maslo, there is produced a fossil
or an earthy substance, ealled in Russian Kamen-
noye Maslo, or stone butter, which is eaten in va-
rious ways, as well by the Russians as Tongousi — it
is of a yellowish cream-colour, and not unpleasant
in taste ; but it is forbidden, as pernicious in its ef-
fects, producing various disorders, as the gravel, &c.

This earthy matter is found to be a fossil or salt,
oozing out of rocks in many parts of Siberia, but
chiefly from those near the river Irtish and Yenis-
sei. When it is exposed to the air in dry weather.

TO ZASHIVEUSK. 199

it hardens, but in wet weather it again becomes
soft or liquid.

The horses requiring much rest from their fa-
tigues, we did not depart until late. The inter-
mediate time I consumed in various employments,
chiefly by contrasting in my mind the populous
cities and towns I had left, with the remote and
widely distant villages I now meet, and " those vast
and uncultivated tracts," as are observed by Talley-
rand, when speaking upon society, " traversed ra-
ther than peopled by men who belong to no nation.
It is a novel spectacle for a traveller who, taking
his departure from a large town where society is
perfected, watches every degree of civilization and
industry becoming every moment weaker, till he
arrives in a few days at the clumsy and coarse hut,
constructed with the trunks of fallen trees. Such
a journey is a practical analysis of the origin and
progress of nations, where we have a complicated
aggregate to arrive at the most simple elements :
every day we lose sight of some one of those in-
ventions which our unceasing wants have render-
ed necessary, and seem to travel backward in the
history of the progress of the human mind. If
such a spectacle invites the imagination, if we are
delighted to find in space what alone belongs to
time, we must be content to see very few social ties
among those men who appear so little to belong
to the same association, so little to possess an uni-
formity of character." These ideas, so congenial
with my own, occupied me in a melancholy mood,
till I rose, and, looking at the grandeur of the sce-
nery, reflected, that wherever I was, the same Pro-
vidence was there also.

The extensive chains of mountains viewed from
the spot where I write this are truly fine ; they run

200 ZASH1VERSK.

from east-north-east to west-south-west; the river
Rasoka runs along the eastern range, and is visible
for many miles within the two ranges, which ap-
pear to have been torn asunder by some convulsion
of nature. I was, however, obliged to quit the scene,
and pursue my journey over a country agreeably
diversified with hill and dale, — the path lying first
along the banks of the Biekhall and then of tho
Bludenaya, where I halted in a most beautiful and
close valley, surrounded on all sides by lofty and
well-clothed mountains.

On the ninth day I started for Zashiversk, dis-
tant forty miles, the first twenty of which was by
a rising path, until I reached the greatest elevation
of a lofty mountain, with some peril and more dif-
ficulty. The scene reminded me of my journey
across the sandy hills at the back of Vera Cruz,
with this difference only, that the gale, generally
attending both, obscures in the one instance the at-
mosphere with sand, and in the other with snow ; in
both no traces of a path can long exist if there be
any wind. The snow lay from four to six feet deep,
and our situation was at one time extremely dan-
gerous, being completely ignorant which way to
turn ; not the smallest vestige of verdure was to be
seen, and except a few crosses (another resemblance
to Vera Cruz), which were sure to receive the of-
fering of theYakuti, consisting of horse-hair drawn
from the tail or mane of horses, in token of their
gratitude for safe arrival at the summit, nothing was
visible. By good fortune and perseverance, we at
length got quit of this desert of snow, and rapidly
descended the north-east side of the hills, enjoying
the magnificent winter scene which gradually opens
to view. I soon reached the banks of the Chou-
houkalah, and the more considerable Galanima, and

ZASttlVERSK. 201

then, along a well-wooded valley, gained the rapid
Indigirka, just at the point where the latter falls in-
to it ; not long after which I entered the town of
Zashiversk.

Of all the places I have ever seen, bearing the
name of a city or town, this is the most dreary and
desolate ; my blood froze within me as I beheld and
approached the place. All that I have seen in pas-
sing rocky or snowy sierras or passes in Spain, in
traversing the wastes of Canada, or in crossing the
Cordilleras or Andes of North America, the Py-
renees or the Alps, cannot be compared with the
desolation of the scene around me ! The first con-
siderable halting-plaee from Yakutsk, the half-way
house, is nine hundred or one thousand miles re-
moved from a civilized place. Such a spot gives
name to a commissariat, and contains seven habi-
tations of the most miserable kind, inhabited seve-
rally by two clergymen, each separate, a non-com-
missioned officer, and a second in command ; a
postmaster, a merchant, and an old widow. I have,
during my service in the navy, and during a period
when seamen were scarce, seen a merchant ship
with sixteen guns, and only fifteen men, but I never
before saw a town with only seven inhabitants.

The distance to Zashiversk from Tabalak is two
hundred and fifty miles, throughout the whole of
which there is not a single inhabited dwelling,
and but eight charity yourtes. The weather had,
generally speaking, been calm and mild, seldom
exceeding 25° of frost of Reaumur. This miser-
able town is, however, at least an hospitable place.
It is seated on the right bank of the Indigirka,
which flows with great rapidity, and, during the
summer, carries every thing before it. The moun-
tains to the west are bold and bare, producing no-

202 FROM ZASHIVERSK

thing besides a few dwarf pines ; these mountains
confine the river for forty miles farther to the north,
where it spreads, and forms a continuation of lakes
until it enters the Icy Sea.

Fish is fine and most abundant, and constitutes
almost the only support of the numerous inhabi-
tants. There is not a blade of grass near the
place, and no horses are kept nearer than thirty
miles ; so that there is no little difficulty in bring-
ing the hay which maintains a couple of cows.
The planner or proposer of this site for a town
might deserve punishment, but certainly less than
that of being made its perpetual commander. I,
however, remained three days, living in a state of
luxury to which I had, of late, been a stranger.
Hares, wolves, bears, wild rein-deer, and elks,
which abound here, were my ordinary food ; foxes,
which are also in great plenty, are also sometimes
used. Bear and wolf meat I found good when
very hungry ; rein-deer I found a delicate diet ; but
elk, I think, surpasses every thing I have tasted,
having all the nutriment of beef, with all the deli-
cate flavour of the rein- deer.

On the 3d of December I quitted the toum of
Zashiversk, not ungrateful for the hospitality of its
poor inhabitants, who had supplied me with plenty
of fish, here eaten in a raw state, and which to this
hour I remember as the greatest delicacy I have
ever tasted. Spite of our prejudices, there is no-
thing to be compared to the melting of raw fish in
the mouth; oysters, clotted cream, or the finest
jelly in the world is nothing to it ; nor is it only a
small quantity that may be eaten of this precious
commodity. I myself have finished a whole fish,
which, in its frozen state, might have weighed two
or three pounds, and, with black biscuit, and a

TO SORDAK. 203

glass of rye-brandy, have defied either nature or
art to prepare a better meal. It is cut up or
shaved into slices with a sharp knife, from head to
tail, and thence derives the name of stroganlna ;
to complete the luxury only salt and pepper were
wanting. Having charged myself with a leather
bag of these, which are always of a white colour,
and generally of the sturgeon kind, I resumed my
route along the crystal surface of the Indigirka.
My first day's journey brought me more acquaint-
ed with the power and use of dogs, although I have
seen them in London drawing a poor sailor who
had lost both his legs ; here, however, water or ice,
fish, fire-wood, travellers and their goods, and every
thing that convenience can demand, are drawn by
those domestic animals.

At forty miles the mountains diverge from the
course of the river to the east-north-east and
west-south-west, the former chain going towards
the Kolyma, and the latter embanking the Yana ;
the country between them a vast desert. The
twentieth day we had passed thirty miles, still on
the shallow, transparent, and slippery Indigirka,
which gave us another lesson of our hard work.
Many islands lay in the river, which, during the
summer, present a scene of desolation almost in-
credible, from the effects of the wonderful over-
flowing of the rivers. In journeying along the
river, my horse twice fell under me upon his broad-
side, yet without injury to me, as I used no stir-
rups, my feet hanging at liberty for the purpose of
kicking the horse's sides to keep them warm. My
route lying north, the mountains gradually disap-
peared as I entered on the seemingly bouncQeM
plain. We ferried at a comfortable clean yourte,
where I was reiraled with excellent cream and wild

20i SORDAK.

berries, somewhat similar to black currants, called
here broosnicka, vaccinium vitis idcea. I continued
over a flat country, and lakes communicating with
one another by small streams, suffering much at
times from the cold, especially in the knees, which,
although not sensibly cold, had a feeling of dead-
ness and painful fatigue, which I could not account
for, till a pedlar explained to me, by signs and
words, that if I did not alter my plan, I should cer-
tainly lose both my legs above the knees. They
appeared indeed a little inflamed, owing, as he said,
to the inadequate protection of the knee-joints,
which, on horseback, are more than ordinarily ex-
posed, all the defence they had being a single lea-
ther, in sometimes 30° of frost of Reaumur. I
considered that I was still bound to the northward,
and that the extreme of winter had not yet come
upon me, and therefore thought it better to accept
a pair of souturee (knee-preservers, made of the
skins of rein-deer's legs), which he very kindly of-
fered. The service they did me is astonishing ;
from that moment I had less pain and more heat,
and became fully satisfied that the extremities alone
are to be taken care of. The golden rule, which
I have never found to err, is, always to follow the
example and custom of the natives ; whether in a
hot, cold, or temperate clime, they ought to know
what is most necessary or proper.

On the third day after my departure from Za-
shiversk, my liquor was at an end from the effects
of a very common sort of leak ; it had been tapped
too often. I could do nothing but bull the barrel,
that is, put a little water into it, and thus preserve
at least the appearance of vodkey. The nights
were particularly beautiful, and the moon was vi-
sible during the whole twenty-four hours. My

SOltDAK. 205

eyes bad now become painful from the effects of
the snow on the eye-lashes, but I was still content,
and moved forward cheerfully to the scene of my
destination. On the sixth day, over a miserable
road, the fatigues of which it is useless to repeat,
I reached a miserable abode, whose inhabitants
were in a state of actual starvation, completely re-
signed to their fate, and only wishing to die. Re-
monstrance had some effect in rousing them, and
warm tea had more, for they determined to accom-
pany us to the next post station, whose inhabitants,
at our instigation, gave them a part of their own
fish, " although their supply of the wants of na-
ture, frugal as they were, but scarce supported
their own lives." Over lakes, and through low fo-
rests, I at length reached the summit of the chain
of hills which separate the commissariats of Zashi-
versk and Kolyma ; then, descending rapidly, en-
tered a charity yourte twenty miles further. I
found a fire already lighted, owing to the conside-
rate attention and orders of Baron Wrangel, who
keeps a man employed here until the whole expe-
dition has passed. The eighth day I reached Sor-
dak, three hundred and twenty miles from Zashi-
versk. This stage was accomplished with great
difficulty, owing to the unusual depth of the snow,
and the wretched condition of the horses ; mine
had failed. The late high winds had also oblite-
rated every trace of the path, and we were fre-
quently obliged to return and start afresh, sound-
ing the depth of the snow as we went. At length,
however, we arrived, and in good health, although
toe weather was now become very severe.

At Sordak there is a post-house and a corporal
of the Cossacks, with a few other yourtes for the
Yakuti, who cut and bring hay and fire-wood, and

vol. r. s

206 SORDAK.

fish and hunt ; in short, they maintain the establish-
ment upon the terms of paying no yasack. They
also accompany the post and other travellers, and
return with the government horses. This may
serve, therefore, as a description of the other sta-
tions, of which there are but eight in the whole
route from Yakutsk to the Kolyma, a distance of
eighteen hundred miles. The country round Sor-
dak is low and marshy, with numerous lakes and
much fine wood, and is indeed far superior to that
on the southern side of the hills. The under of-
ficer who keeps the station, is grandson of the ce-
lebrated Vladimir Atlassof, who discovered, and in
part conquered, Kamtchatka. He entered into a
history of his adventures, very little of which I un-
derstood. He is marked by a vermilion spot on
his cheek, and subject to a complaint called imera-
chism, which will be hereafter mentioned. His
present occupation appears to consist in forward-
ing a quantity of youkola and frozen fish for the
assistance of the expedition at the Kolyma ; he is
at the same time actually making a complaint to
Baron Wrangel, of the people under his command
being in a state of starvation ; in spite of which, he
is willing to sell their provisions. Alas ! what will
not man do, even in the most remote wilds, for the
sake of lucre !

Among the guests at Sordak was the priest of
Sredne Kolymsk, or Middle Kolymsk, who had
arrived to christen some infants, as well as, perhaps,
to drink an extra allowance of spirits ; for his re-
verence informed me, that the glass was at 43° of
frost of Reaumur, (although, I suppose, he under-
stood as little of a thermometer as I did of the
Greek mass,) in spite of the fineness of the day.
The sun, in fact, was visible, although I was a lit-

SORDAK. 207

tie north of the arctic circle, the date being 10th
(22d) December ; one more convincing proof how
ill we hitherto understood the reflective or refrac-
tive power of the sun in arctic latitudes. This cir-
cumstance I hope will have some weight in esta-
blishing the character of the late Mr Hearne, who
can hardly, in his dark age, be supposed to have
understood the very nice calculations which appear
so to occupy the exertions of the present expedi-
tions : Mr Kenzie may be found equally incorrect,
in not having made an allowance for a modern im-
provement.

Having well refreshed ourselves with the flesh
of a wolf and a horse, which had, the day before,
fought each other to death, we departed on the 14th
towards the Kolyma. The first night we put up at
a yourte, forty miles, encompassed by squalling
children, growling and howling dogs, and a scolding
and tyrannical hostess. There wanted only a smoky
chimney to render it complete. Having procured
wood for the night, on the morrow we departed,
but not before I had got into a scrape, for hanging
my cap and gloves upon the pins which bear the
images of worship. The infuriated woman com-
plained to the Cossack of the insult. The Cos-
sack told her I was an English pope, or priest, and
that I was privileged ; the length of my locks, as
well as beard, was proof positive, and thencefor-
ward I was called the English priest.

The second day we reached a large and neat
yourte, inhabited by two aged brothers who had
become Christians. The eldest had discarded two
of his wives as a proof of his faith, although the
younger had buried three, and was enjoying hap-
piness with a fourth, — no great sign of his faith, or
strict attention to the orders of the Greek church,

208 SREDNE KOLYMSK.

which only permits three marriages. Next day I
crossed the Alazea, a considerable river, running
into the Frozen Ocean. This part of the world
is most abundantly rich in fish, game, and cattle ;
and the few inhabitants upon its banks live exceed-
ingly well. They supplied me with a couple of
geese, with ducks and frozen fish, which is of the
first quality. From the Alazea I kept company
with a pedlar, half Yakut and half Russian. I
have seen several of this mixed breed ; and, al-
though their parents are ordinary in appearance,
I have hardly ever seen the children, whether male
or female, otherwise than with the most beautiful
skins, and pleasingly formed features. They have
also a delicate appearance, which adds much to the
general interest.

On the 19th December I reached Sredne Ko-
lymsk, being one hundred and fifty miles from Sor-
dak. The day was very cold, but the weather was
calm. The country has been very low, but I am
row getting into the vicinity of elevated lands.
Crossing the magnificent stream, I shortly reached
the town, or commissariat, where an empty house
was soon provided for me ; and being supplied
with firing, attendants, and provisions, I regaled
myself, through the kindness of the commissary ;
and, in short, remained nearly five days, owing to
their inability to supply me with a fresh Cossack.
The interval was employed in walking about, ma-
king observations, and compiling this narrative.

The priest having, with the commissary and
principal people of the place, paid me a visit, the
former entered my habitation, crossing himself, as
is customary ; then advancing to me, who stood
offering him my hand in the English style, I was
honoured with his blessing, which I acknowledged

SREDNE KOLYMSK 209

by an exchange of the compliment. The old gen-
tleman retreated in astonishment, and, demanding
who and what I was, my Cossack answered I was
an English priest ; upon which the reverend gen-
tleman observed he was in error, as one priest
could not give a benediction to another. He then
shook hands, and expressed his friendship for me.
Another instance of the effects of my beard, and
of more value to me, though less to the priests of
Siberia, arose from the circumstance of the Yakuti
coming to me frequently with the right hand open,
and supported by the left, which I interpreted in-
to an asking of alms, and accordingly gave them
something to eat. This, however, they evidently
declined, and still continued their supplicating pos-
ture. My Cossack afterwards gave me to under-
stand that I was mistaken, for that they were beg-
ging a blessing. I therefore determined to satisfy
the next Yakut who appeared during one of my
rambles along the river ; and- when a well-dressed
Yakut knez, or prince, demanded my blessing in
passing, I gave it to him in the Russian style, as
well as to his family. When I left them, the prince
began to unload a souma, or leathern bag, and fol-
lowing me, kissed my hand, and insisted upon my
accepting a couple of sables ; nor could all my en-
treaties induce him to take them back, that being
considered the greatest insult ; nor, indeed, will any
return be received for a religious offering on the
spot ; afterwards a little tobacco, a knife, or flint
and steel, is considered an acceptable present.

Sredne Kolymsk stands upon the left bank of
the Kolyma, and is the residence of the commis-
sary, his secretary, and a few attending Cossacks.
There are also about twelve or fifteen inhabited
dwellings, containing about one hundred people ;
8 2

210 SREDNE KOLYMSK.

though with its outhouses, baths, &c. it has the
appearance of a large village. Its central position
is the principal reason of its adoption as the re-
sidence of the commissary ; producing immense
quantities of superior fish, serving equally for their
own consumption and that of their dogs, which are
numerous, it is also eligible.

With a poor hobbydehoy fellow, in lieu of my
faithful and affectionate Cossack Peter Trechekoff,
I departed on Christmas day, in spite of the re-
monstrances and invitation of the commissary to
pass the holidays with him, and, directing my route
along the river Kolyma, could not repress an in-
clination to melancholy, and a feeling of the lone-
liness of my situation. I felt that all my sorrows
were yet to come, and that my difficulties had
hardly begun. Yet my determination was firm,
had appearances been ten times worse.

At twenty miles I visited an old Yakut prince,
upwards of ninety years old, in the perfect enjoy-
ment of all his faculties. He was a companion
and acquaintance of the unfortunate Shallaouroft
in the year 1764, then fifty- six years ago, when
that adventurous person completed two expedi-
tions to the Frozen Sea, and is supposed to have
perished in the third. I inquired of the old man
respecting Billings and his party ; he said that was
as yesterday. He has a comfortable dwelling, and
is in good circumstances, though he told me a sub-
sistence by the chase seems very precarious now-
a-days, as most of the animals, especially the rein-
deer and elks, have been driven to the north and
east.

Here I quitted the river, and then over a flat
country, abounding in lakes and low brash-wood,
completed forty miles ; the weather was exceed-

MALONE. 211

ingly cold, the thermometer never being above 35°
of Reaumur. The hills to the east had gradually
disappeared, and the following day we reached
fifty miles by a good path, and comparatively little
fatigue.

The third day I made thirty, and the fourth day
forty miles, mostly along the river, and through
and over broken ice, which made the journey very
tedious, starting early and arriving late. The
habitations in this district, whether peopled or not,
are much more comfortable than in the others, and
it is but justice to the people also to say, that they
are cleaner and better clothed. On the fifth day
I started at one in the morning, and reached sixty
miles, the greatest journey I had made in one day,
in 35° or 36° of frost. I was obliged from the
cold to dismount at least twenty or thirty times,
to take a run for mere self-preservation. At forty
miles, at three in the afternoon, we drank tea in a
bush, and at eight or nine in the evening reached
the station called Malone, exceedingly fatigued.
I soon recovered, however, through the kindness
of a venerable Russian merchant who happened
also to be travelling and trading that way, though
nearly eighty years of age, sixty of which he had
passed in Siberia, and twenty in Archangel. His
present voyage, in his latter days, appeal's to have
been a losing one, arising from the circumstance
that the paper currency has been recently changed
at the capitals, with only a short warning to this
distant point, where the new issue has not yet ar-
rived. The pedlars of this place are thus thrown
out of every means of earning a profit with money
for another year, while the chances to the com-
missaries and other civil official traders are pro-
portionably increased— unless at the sacrifice of

212 MALONE.

20 and 25 per cent to those persons whose func-
tions ought to restrain such a proceeding. The
old merchant was, however, still able to give me
tea and a glass of corn spirits, my own having been
long since consumed, with every other species of
provision. I contrived, however, through the kind-
ness of the people, always to have plenty of fish,
which was generally my principal food, in pre-
ference to the game which was offered to me, but
which I much disliked.

At Malone the track for horses is in general
finished, though they do sometimes go as far as
Nishney Kolymsk, and even to the Frozen Sea,
in search of sea-horse and mammoth's tusks. I
was now provided with thirteen dogs and a driver,
and a vehicle covered over with a sort of frame
and oil- cloth, to keep out the cold, as it was thought
too great for me to withstand. A bear skin and
warm blanket and pillow were also placed in it,
in such a manner that I might lie down, be warm,
and sleep at my pleasure. I got in, and it was
closed after me ; not a breath of air could enter ;
so that, notwithstanding the intense cold prevailing
on the outside, I was obliged to make my escape
from the suffocation within, by taking out my
knife, and cutting a way through to gain fresh air.
I have seldom been so sick or so angry : and baring
my head, neck, and breast to the cold, and pitch-
ing the covering into the snow, in this exposed
state I resumed the journey. The dogs ran well ;
but, from the effects of the severe cold, they were
compelled to rest a few minutes at every four miles,
besides at other times, as often as was necessary to
let me have my run. Indeed, the want of exer-
cise cruelly afflicted me. I never was so distress-
ed from the cold ; the half-hour stages betwixt

NISHNEY KOLYMSK. 213

every three or four miles were sufficient to freeze
and fret my face desperately ; and it then required
no little self-command to be able to resume the
exercise so necessary to counteract it. Sometimes
I found myself so drowsy, that the driver deemed
it necessary to use all his exertions to rouse me.
He behaved with great kindness, and has secured
my grateful recollection.

We reached fifty-five miles with the same dogs,
and put up for the night at a Yukagir hut. Re-
sumed next morning, with increased cold, though
calm weather, and reached Nishney Kolymsk at
noon, amid 42° of frost, according to many spirit
thermometers of Baron Wrangel's, on the last day
of December, 1820, after a most tedious, laborious,
and to me perilous, journey of sixty-one days,
twenty of which were passed in the snow, without
even the comfort of a blanket — a great oversight,
I will not call it fault, of my worthy friend Mr
Minitsky ; nor had I even a second coat, or parka,
nor even a second pair of boots, and less clothing
than even the guides and attendants of the poorest
class. I could not therefore but feel grateful for
my safe arrival at such a season of the year, in
such intense cold, and with only the upper part of
my nose between the eyes at all injured. Had I
not received the knee-preservers, T believe I never
should have arrived safe, unless by walking the
whole distance ; for when once the knees are frost-
bitten (mine only complained) in a serious man-
ner, adieu alike to them and life !

I met, at Nishney Kolymsk, the Baron Wrangel,
and his companion, Mr Matiushkin, a midshipman.
It was the last day of the old year, and in the
present enjoyment of a moderate meal, a hearty
welcome, and excellent friends, I soon forgot the

214 NISHNEY KOLYMSK.

past, and felt little concern for the future. Quar-
ters were appropriated me in the baron's own
house ; and with him, on the shores of the Frozen
Sea, I enjoyed health and every comfort I could
desire.

C 215 ]

CHAPTER VII.

Nishney Kolymsk — Ostrovnaya Fortress — Description of
the Fair held there with the Tchuktchi tribe — Observa-
tions on that People, and on Baron WrangePs Expedi-

On the morning after my arrival at Nishney
Kolymsk, and while at breakfast, I received, as a
new year's gift, a couple of large fish in a frozen
state, weighing each five or six poods, or about
two hundred pounds weight. I inquired for what
they were intended, and learned, that I could not
be supposed to have brought fish with me for sub-
sistence ; and that, as the season had already pass-
ed for laying in a stock, the inhabitants of course
knew that I must be in want. During the fore-
noon I also received a parka, or leather frock, to
be worn during my stay in the Kolyma. It was
a handsome one, mounted with sables and martins.
To these were added trowsers, cap, boots, and
leather hose ; in short, every article of dress that
could be desired, and sufficient to have served me
at least a twelvemonth. Besides these articles, I
was also provided with a bear's skin for a bed, and
a leather covering for a blanket, lined with hares'
skins. Gloves were supplied me through the care
of the ladies ; and Baron Wrangel, at whose house
I lodged, crowned these benevolences, besides his

216 NISHNEY KOLYMSK.

general kindness, in making my situation absolute-
ly enviable, by fitting me with a complete suit of
the dress of the country, to be used if necessary,
or retained as a sample of the costume in those
northern parts. By these kind and considerate
supplies, both of provisions and dress, I was en-
abled to take my daily exercise with impunity, and
could not help recalling to mind the words of Prior,
which were fully realized in my case : —

If any nation pass their destin'd days
Beneath the neighb'ring sun's directer rays ;
If any suffer, on the Polish coast,
The rage of Arctos and eternal frost ;
May not the pleasure of Omnipotence
To each of these some secret good dispense ?

Baron Wrangel's expedition I found in a state
of much forwardness, great exertions having been
used in collecting dogs and drivers, and provisions,
as well as in making new nartes, or sledges. I
learned that it would depart from the Kolyma in
the month of March, in two divisions, — one having
for its object the solution of the question regard-
ing the latitude and longitude of the north-east
cape of Asia ; and the other, a journey due north
from the mouth of the Kolyma, in search of a real
or supposed continent, or rather the continuation
of Asia to where it was imagined by some to join
the continent of America. I did not hesitate to
volunteer my services ; but in consequence of my
being a foreigner, I found my offer could not be
accepted without special permission from the go-
vernment. I therefore made up my mind to set
out for the fair of the Tchuktchi, and to try my
fortune in getting a passage through their coun-

NISHNEY KOLYMSK. 217

try, and so to cross over Behring's Straits for Ame-
rica.

During the months of January and February
we were variously employed, as the nature of the
weather would allow, passing the time agreeably and
happily enough. Among other things, I brought
up my journal, and worked some observations for
the latitudes and longitudes of Nishney Kolymsk.
I had also placed at my disposal some interesting
volumes, which Baron Wrangel had brought with
him. Sometimes we joined in the amusements of
the natives, and visited them in their feasts, which
are very numerous, and at which there is a great
consumption of liquor. The ice mountain was of
course one of our amusements, and our time was
far from hanging heavy. I descended it daily du-
ring the fetes with one and sometimes two young
girls on my knees, who expressed no fear in trust-
ing themselves with a novice. Our conversation
was chiefly relative to the expedition ; each per-
son had something to recommend, either for im-
mediate benefit or as a future precaution ; among
others, I was so fortunate as to propose some
things which appeared and proved of service to
the expedition, and which were either adopted
or improved upon by the Baron. I have seldom
seen a young man better qualified for the task im-
posed upon him, or one who possessed a more
versatile genius. For his kindness to me I must
ever feel grateful, and our short acquaintance has,
I trust, been productive of a mutual friendship.

The weather proved exceedingly cold in Janu-
ary and February, but never so severe as to prevent
our walks, except during those times when the
wind was high ; it then became insupportable out
of doors, and we were obliged to remain at home.

VOL. i. t 7

218 NISHNEY K.OLYMSK.

Forty degrees of frost of Reaumur never appeared
to affect us in calm weather so much as ten or
fifteen during the time of a breeze ! yet, to witness
the aurora borealis, I have repeatedly quitted my
bed in those extremes of cold, without shoes or
stockings, and with no dress on but a parka, or
frock.

To prove that I do not magnify the extremes of
cold in that part of the world, I beg to refer to Mr
Sauer's account of Billings's expedition, and the
present Admiral Saritcheff's account of the same,
when 43° of Reaumur, or 74° of Fahrenheit, were
repeatedly known. I will, also, add my testimony
from experience, to the extent of 42°. I have also
seen the minute-book of a gentleman at Yakutsk,
where 47° of Reaumur were registered, equal to
84° of Fahrenheit. There can, indeed, be but lit-
tle doubt that the local situation of the Kolyma, bor-
dering on the latitude of 70°, and almost the most
easterly part of the continent of Asia, is a colder
one than Melville Island, or the centre of the
American Polar coast. Okotsk, Idgiga, Yakutsk,
Tomsk, and Tobolsk, are considered equally cold
and exposed as the mouths of the Lena, Yana, or
Kolyma. Even Irkutsk, about the latitude of Lon-
don, has yearly a frost of 40° of Reaumur, or 58°
below the zero of Fahrenheit ; yet the utmost de-
gree of cold that I have observed, I have never
"known attended by that crackling noise of the
breath which has been related, nor with those other
strange sensations which some have described ;
though I have seen axes split to pieces, and wit-
nessed the ill effects of touching iron, glass, or
crockery, with the naked skin, which will infallibly
adhere to it. However, I soon had reason to con •
eider the coldest dav as the finest, because it was

THE KOLYMA. 219

then sure to be calm, and offered every excitement
to exercise and cheerfulness.

Nishney Kolymsk may be termed a large town
in this part of the world, containing, as it does, near
fifty dwellings, and about four hundred people, (or
eighty families,) which is three times the number-
of any place betwixt it and Yakutsk. It stands on
the east side of an island in the Kolyma, about
twenty five miles long, and opposite to the junc-
tion of the river Aniuy. Formerly the town was
eight miles lower down, but the bleakness of the
situation, and its consequent exposure to the north-
ern blasts, induced its removal to the present site,
where it is protected from them by a range of
hills. The island is covered only with low brush-
wood, but receives fine timber, which is floated
down the river. No cultivation can of course be
expected in a climate wherein scarcely a blade of
grass is to be seen ; the horses, which do some-
times tarry in its vicinity for a few days, feeding
upon the tops, stumps, and bark of the bushes, or
upon the moss. The inhabitants manage, notwith-
standing, with great labour, to feed a couple of
cows ; though to do this they are obliged to bring
the hay eighty miles. They are mostly Cossacks,
with half-a-dozen pedlars, and three priests, the
whole of whom carry on some traffic. These re-
verend traders seem to have adopted the practice
of our young boys, who will say their prayers se-
veral times on those nights when they cannot sleep,
as a sort of atonement for those nights when sleep
and fatigue, or the like, have superseded them.
In like manner the clergymen, as I was told, have
actually said masses three times on a certain Sun-
day, and were then absent till the fourth; and being
three brothers, of course they were not in fear of

220 THE KOLYMA.

being reported by one another. Baron Wrangel,
however acceptable he deemed the extra masses,
insisted upon the observance of religious worship
every Sunday.

The occupation of people in this part of the
world naturally depends upon the season. Laying
in wood for fire, hunting, and trading, are the win-
ter occupations ; while fishing and fowling are al-
most the exclusive employment in spring and au-
tumn : summer is generally the building time, the
wood for which is floated down the Kolyma from
Sredne Kolymsk. The women embroider gloves,
caps, boots, shoes, and various things in a neat
manner. Farther on, to the southward, they also
attend to the breeding of cattle. Fishing may,
however, be termed the grand concern, employing,
as it does, alike men, women, children, and dogs.

The quantity of fish caught is prodigious, as will
be inferred from the following account. From
Nishney Kolymsk to Malone is a distance of eighty
miles ; the number of inhabitants in the two places
may be six hundred, and these consume nearly two
million pounds of fish. Now, allowing one hun-
dred and twenty families to represent the six hun-
dred individuals, it follows that each family receives
a portion of about fifteen thousand pounds of fish
annually, or forty pounds a-day. Nor is such a
quantity by any means too large, considering the
number of dogs, which are generally allowed each
ten herrings a-day, at least during the period of
work. In the distance above alluded to, there may
be about eight hundred dogs, which consume above
four thousand pounds of fish daily, during half the
year : the other half they prowl about on the banks
of the river and lakes, and by their sagacity pro-
vide their own subsistence. Indeed, were it not

THE KOLYMA. 221

for them, there would inevitably be a plague in the
town of Nishney Kolymsk, for there is no filth
whatever which is not consumed by them. With
respect to their howling at stated periods, no cock
ever crew, nor goose ever cackled, more regularly
than these domestic animals : it would also appear
that one of them is constantly on the alert, and,
giving the alarm, he is instantly followed by the
rest during a space of four or five minutes.

The fish caught in the river Kolyma are of va-
rious kinds, but most of them I can only denote by
their native names, as the nailma, moksou, osioter,
and sturgeon : the salmon is fine and plentiful, and
the sterlett delicious ; from the roe of the last is
made the black caviar ; but herrings are the most
abundant of all. The sturgeon is converted into
youkola, or dried fish, for the inhabitants, while
moksou is similarly prepared for the dogs ; the
other kinds are generally boiled or eaten raw by
men and dogs; the former is deemed a most ex-
pensive plan. The species of fish allotted to the
dogs, are only in cases of great necessity consumed
by the men ; such for instance was the case be-
tween the years 1812 and 1819, when a famine
prevailed to so alarming a degree, that the poor
were obliged to eat the dogs as they died, although,
to their credit be it recorded, they never, even in
these circumstances, killed them. Indeed, these
faithful animals constitute the greatest part of their
riches. Yet nature appears in part to have pro-
vided against such emergencies, as it is a general
remark, that, in those seasons when fish are scarce,
elks, wild sheep, and rein-deer are most nume-
rous, and vice versd. But many of the inhabitants
will not be harassed with the trouble of hunting)
and depend entirely upon fish for their food.
t 2

222 THE KOLYMA.

Formerly, this part of the world was highly pro-
ductive in furs, the Emperor receiving a tenth of
each sort, which has at times amounted to as many
as five thousand sables ; but now-a-days less than
so many hundreds, a quantity barely sufficient to
pay the yasack. The shores of the Icy Sea are
still much frequented by the white, blue, and red
fox, and near the woods valuable sables are still to
be met with. In the rivers the vidra, or river
otter, is in much estimation. Upon the whole,
however, it appears that the inhabitants look to the
Tchuktchi for their winter clothing and most va-
luable fur trade. The animals of the chase seem
to have been forced from the central to the extreme
parts of Siberia, and thus the elks, rein-deer, and
argali, or wild sheep, are but rarely met with in
the commissariat ; they are now more within the
reach of the few Yukagire descendants who line
the banks of the two Aniuys, and chase those ani-
mals beyond the frontiers. Game of the feathered
kind is, nevertheless, highly abundant, such as
swans, geese, ducks, woodcocks, bustards, and par-
tridges ; but, as in the case of the wild animals, the
inhabitants have neither the time nor the means to
look after them. Could they be supplied with salt,
or could salt works be established here, no spot in
the world would be better supplied with food than
the Kolyma ; — whereas, at present, should they be
so fortunate as to take two or three years' fish du-
ring one season, it must all be converted to you-
kola ; and in the second summer it turns sour and
becomes maggoty, so as scarcely to be fit even for
the dogs to eat.

With respect to the salubrity of the town and
district of Kolyma, I fear it cannot be highly ex-
tolled, being subject to the ravages of many dis-

THE KOLYMA. 223

eases, among which the leprosy, apoplexy, vene-
real, and scurvy are the most dangerous. The lat-
ter alone appears, hy the inhabitants, to be sus-
ceptible of cure, which is by the consumption of
raw fish during the winter : in the summer the
disease never fails to abate with the arrival of fresh
fish. I always ate of raw fish, as well from choice,
as from a wish to conform to the manners and cus-
toms of the natives, confident that time and expe-
rience must have initiated them into a knowledge
of what is best for their climate. The two other
diseases before named, especially the venereal, ap-
pear incurable, becoming as it were the inheritance
of the children. The complaints called diable au
corps, and imerachism, must also be specified ; the
former is a most extraordinary one, and consists in
an idea that the body of the patient is possessed
with one or more devils, attended with incessant hic-
coughs. The parties afflicted with it are generally
most delicate and interesting in their appearance ;
and it is seldom indeed that any individual is cured.
In females it prevails to such an extent as utterly
to prevent pregnancy. I have seen them hiccough
to so great an extent, as to induce me to strike
them on the upper part of the spine, in the hope
of relieving them from the pain by a surprise of the
moment. They persist in believing that a devil is
in the body of the person afflicted, and that, until
he be removed, the person will never regain health.
The complaint, whatever it may be, the natives con-
sider as an inheritance from their fathers. Imera-
chism, to which not only the people of the Kolyma,
but those also of more southern countries, are sub-
ject, is equally unaccountable. Instead of exciting
serious fits, like the last-mentioned disorder, it car-
ries with it au air of merriment, as it by no means

224 THE KOLYMA.

affects the health of the person, though it subject*
him to the most violent paroxysms of rage, fear, and
mortification. Whatever is said or done in the
presence of an imerach, will be repeated by him at
the moment, however indecorous, improper, or vio-
lent the act may be. I have seen the dog-master
of Baron Wrangel's expedition commit acts suffi-
cient to frighten the person in company with him.
While in an adjoining room conversing on points
of duty, a slight knock at the bulk-head was suffi-
cient to set him a pummelling the person with him,
merely from a principle of self-defence. Of this
same dog-master, by the way, a highly amusing
anecdote is related, and which was confirmed to me,
not only by himself personally, but also by Mr
Gedenstrom, of Irkutsk, who commanded the ex-
pedition. The theatre was the Frozen Ocean, and
the imerach's dogs and narte were the headmost.
One forenoon they encountered a large white bear ;
the dogs immediately started towards the animal,
and the driver, being the dog-master of whom I
am speaking, steadfastly kept his place, prudently
remaining by those who only could assist him. In
the eagerness of the dogs, sharpened probably by
hunger, they became entangled with one another,
and were almost rendered useless. The driver
seeing the state to which he was reduced, resolved
to attack the bear with his ostol (a stout ironed
stick with small bells, which serves to stop the
narte), and accordingly presented himself to the
enraged bear, who immediately raised himself upon
the hind legs, and began to cry and roar most bit-
terly ; the imerach followed the example. The bear
then began to dance, and the driver did the same, till
at length, the other nartes coming up, the bear re-
ceived a blow upon the nose, and was secured. It

THE KOLYMA. 225

appears that the nose is the only part vulnerable
without fire-arras, and even then they can be se-
cured only on being shot through the head. The
white bear is, however, by no means a dangerous
animal, avoiding the chase as much as it is avoided.
Another instance of imerachism, which occurred
in a distant part of the general government of Si-
beria, may be related in this place, to prevent again
adverting to those ludicrous scenes which hourly
attend it. Two old ladies in Kamtchatka, one the
mother of a Mr Tallman, an American, who had
married a Russian girl, the other, the wife of a
Russian, who were both afflicted with the disease,
were sitting at tea opposite one another, when Mr
Tallman, in a gentle manner, put his hands behind
their backs, propelling the old ladies towards each
other, upon which they instantly exchanged tea-
cups and saucers, while the really offending party
stood enjoying the mischief. There can be no
doubt that the complaint is rendered worse by the
constant annoyance and irritation to which they
are subjected for the amusement of others ; to say
nothing about my belief that it is in many cases
brought on by an habitual folly of young boys, who
imitate the mad acts of the really afflicted.

Nishney Kolymsk has formerly been celebrated
by the rank of the people banished thither. The
famous Count Golofkin, one of the ministers of
Catherine II., was for many years a resident, and
ultimately died there. He was considered as a
great intriguant, but of an eccentric character, a
proof of which is afforded by his constant habit
of putting himself, servants, and even his house, in-
to mourning, on Catherine's birth, name, or coro-
nation day. This open and determined opposition
utterly precluded his pardon, and Nishney Kolymsk

226 THE KOLYMA.

contains his tomb. The conduct of a Livonian ba-
ron, at one time high in the esteem of the same
princess, merited and obtained more favourable
consideration. The baron successfully applied him-
self to the breedingof cattle in the vicinity of Sredne
Kolymsk, but his pardon arrived so late, that his
age and infirmities prevented his acceptance of the
proffered boon, and he, his wife, and two children,
lie buried in the church at Kolymsk ; his eldest
son returned to St Petersburg, and became repos-
sessed of the honours and wealth of his father. To
such men an expatriation to this, the most distant
part of Russian Siberia, must have been severe be-
yond measure ; cut off for ever from fortune, friends,
rank, society, and every enjoyment that could ren-
der life desirable.

The only meteorological phenomenon which oc-
curred during my stay at the Kolyma, was the aurora
borealis. The scene fell far short of my expecta-
tions. I understood, however, that the months of
October and November are the most proper to view
it in its greatest splendour. Those which appear-
ed during my stay, were generally from the north,
and consisted of columns of fire moving in a hori-
zontal direction, and generally disappearing in the
south-west ; the height of the columns being from
50° to 60°. At times an immense illuminated space
from north to east would advance very close to us,
and throwing up rays, or rockets of fire, and form-
ing into concave arches, approached us so near, as
apparently to endanger our situation, exhibiting at
the same time every colour of the rainbow. The
most beautiful aurora which I saw was at midnight
of the first of March ; the wind was from the north -
north- west, and the glass at 36° of cold. The au-
rora occupied the whole circle of the heavens, at an

THE KOLYMA. 227

elevation of 28° or 30°, and, gradually rising, dis-
appeared in the zenith. The figure was as an illu-
minated tent, with festoons, or fringes, at the lower
part, and which had an appearance as if constant-
ly receiving accessions of fire, which were equal-
ly distributed to it from every part of the founda-
tion of the tent. The illuminated part gradu-
ally diminished in splendour as it approached the
zenith. It lasted about two hours, and did a little
affect the electrometer. The view of it was ren-
dered exceedingly fine and interesting, from the
fact of our situation being, as it were, in the inside
of the tent.

Among the books in our library was Captain
Burney's Chronological History of theNorth-eastern
Discoveries, and of the Early Navigation of the
Russians. It appeared to me so extraordinary a
production, and so deserving reply, that I address-
ed a memorial or letter to that effect to the Royal
Society. Whether that learned body has recei-
ved it or not, I am unacquainted, at least in an of-
ficial manner. As connected with this journey, I
had certainly considered it becoming the attention
of the Royal Society, because the memorial was
professedly addressed to that body, and was only
not received from a want of form. Mine was also
equally faulty, and consequently could expect no
better reception, being addressed, not to the Presi-
dent and Secretary, but to the Secretary andPre-
sident, of the Society. Although Captain Burney
has paid the debt of nature, still, contrary to the
opinion I entertained in the first edition of this work,
I consider it highly proper to annex a copy of the
said memorial, together with a map. To prevent
interfering with this narrative, and to leave it for

228 THE KOLYMA.

the consideration of the scientific, I have introduced
it as a sort of appendix.

Baron W range! and his party leaving us on the
27th of February, I attended him ten miles down
the river, when, with three cheers, we wished him
every success, and returned. The baron was escort-
ed by twenty nartes and two hundred dogs ; each
narte carried about one thousand two hundred
pounds weight ; but in consequence of the early
part of the winter having been employed in trans^
porting provisions, &c. to the Great Baranov Cape,
to the east of the mouth of the Kolyma, they will
be enabled to proceed fully laden from that spot,
as well round the north-east cape of Asia as to the
northward, in search of strange lands ; they will
also return to Cape Baranov, to be again supplied
with food to enable them to regain this place,
Nishney Kolymsk.

On the 4-th of March I left the Kolyma, in com-
pany with Mr Matiushkin, midshipman, and a few
merchants, whose nartes were loaded with tobacco
and iron utensils. The weather was fine, there
being but 25° Reaumur of frost ; yet we had not
got more than fifty miles, before we were obliged
to halt, on the banks of a lake, being unable to
make out the path, from the depth and drift of the
enow caused by the wind. Our route lay on the
Aniuy, having left to the north the high lands which
defend the town of Nishney Kolymsk. I passed
the night very tolerably in the snow ; but it was
otherwise with my friend, who as yet had not ex-
perienced the inconveniences of these nocturnal so-
journings, and of course was not initiated into the
mysteries of the comforts to be secured by pre-
cautionary measures ; he was therefore repeatedly
obliged to exercise himself during the night, for wc

THE KOLYMA. 229

were so unfortunately situated, that no fire could
have been kept in, even had there been fuel. The
following day we passed through a thick forest of
pines, in the greatest danger of broken heads, going
with a velocity almost incredible, and at every de-
scent of a hill dashing up against the trees. Thirteen
dogs were provided for me. We made thirty-five
miles in this manner, and reached the little Aniuy,
a considerable, rapid, and dangerous river. A charity
yourte received us for the night, and we fared very
well. The low lands, which extend from the Kolyma
to the eastward, being now passed, we entered on a
more elevated country, and were cheered with meet-
ing and overtaking a great number of sledges, whose
owners exhibited the same smiling faces, the result,
no doubt, of as sanguine hopes, as those of the great
merchants of London or Amsterdam, on the eve
or expectation of a great fair. The right bank of
the little Aniuy is formed of slate mountains, the
left a vast uninteresting flat. The river, which has
many islands in it, winds a good deal, and exhibits
some good scenery.

The descendants of the Yukagiri inhabit the banks
of the two rivers Aniuy, and serve as a sort of
neutral nation between the Russians and Tchuktchi.
They were formerly a formidable and warlike peo-
ple ; and it cost the Russians much trouble to sub-
jugate them. Indeed, in such fear were they held,
that the Empress Catherine absolutely forbade their
language to be spoken. They are now all but ex-
tinct, as a pure race, but one old woman existing
whose parents were both Yukagires, and who really
understands the language. The remainder are in
fact descendants of Russians, who have intermarried
with them. They are certainly the finest race of
people I have seen in Siberia ; the men well pro-

vol. i. u

230 THE KOLYMA.

portioned, and with open and manly countenances ;
the women are extremely beautiful. What their
origin was, it is now difficult to say ; although they
were doubtless of Asiatic origin, their features par-
taking of the Tartar aspect, — to say nothing of
their enmity to the Tchuktchi, while they have a
great friendship for the Yakuti or Tongousi.

The third day we reached an inhabited yourte,
where many of the merchants awaited us, as they
could not go to the fair before a certain time. The
river was also in some degree an impediment to
their proceeding, as the velocity of the stream pre-
vents firm ice being ever formed. Two of the mer-
chants, in attempting the passage, got a severe
ducking, and narrowly escaped with their lives;
the breadth of the path being but five or six feet, and
so slippery in some places, that, unless the driver
be very well qualified and accustomed to the place,
it is difficult to prevent accidents. The wood on
the Aniuy is of considerable growth for so northern
a situation ; but the root has seldom more than
twenty inches depth.

I witnessed, for the second time, the first being
at Sordak, the mock suns and moons, and columns
on each side of them, at equal distances ; but these
parhelia were by no means brilliant, owing, as it
appeared to me, to the rather warm weather. I
shall therefore await more favourable appearances,
before I attempt their description.

On the 8th of March we reached the Fortress,
the river bordered with the same elevated slate
lands on the right, and low flat on the left, bank.
At seven miles on this side the fortress, the scenery
begins to improve ; and the fortress itself may be
said to be a most romantic spot. It is distant from
the Kolyma one hundred and fifty miles, and du-

OSTROVNAYA FORTRESS. 231

ring summer the place must be very pleasant. There
are twenty yourtes, about two hundred people, and
a large wooden building, fit for any thing except
defence. The whole stands upon an island, sur-
rounded by elevated and well-wooded hills. There
is very little grass, but much moss. The view of
the river is exceedingly picturesque ; and the for-
tress is decidedly the most favourable place to re-
side in I have seen from Yakutsk, a distance of at
least two thousand miles.

The inhabitants on the banks of the river are not
numerous, and subsist very scantily by hunting,
there being few fish in the river. Famines are there-
fore of frequent occurrence, bread not being sup-
plied by the government. Elks, rein-deer, and ar-
gali, are what the people most depend upon ; for-
merly they were abundant, but are now much re-
duced, owing to the peopling of the country by the
Russians, who hunt rather to exterminate the breed
than to procure subsistence. During the fair, the
inhabitants make the best of their time in trading,
and becoming after that a sort of storekeepers to
the other traders.

Having settled ourselves in a small Yukagir
yourte, Mr Matiushkin and I received a visit from
one of the Tchuktchi, a most empty countenanced
and wild looking savage. He entered the room
where we were, tumbled himself down upon a stool,
smoked his pipe, and then quitted the room, with-
out once looking at, or taking the least notice,
either of us or any thing about us. The commis-
sary having made his appearance, it was determi-
ned to commence the fair, by first installing two of
the chiefs with medals and swords, baptizing them,
and receivings nominal tribute. The morning was
ushered in by the arrival of thoso persons in state,

232 THE FORTRESS.

dressed in their gayest apparel, and seated in a
beautiful narte drawn by two rein- deer, the whole
forming a cavalcade of twenty-five or thirty pairs.
Having reached a large storehouse, to which the
altar and images were carried, the priest proceed-
ed to baptize the two men, their wives, and three
children ; but instead of being merely sprinkled with
water, they, men and women, were obliged one and
all to strip, and to be three times plunged in a large
iron cauldron of ice-water, with the thermometer
on the spot at 35° of Reaumur, with no part of
their dress on except their trowsers ; and were af-
terwards directed to bathe their feet in the same
cold water. I could not help pitying the women
and children, the former of whom, having long hair,
became, as it were, enveloped in icicles. A small
cross suspended round the neck, with many diffi-
cult and almost useless injunctions how to pro-
nounce their newly acquired names, completed the
ceremony. A quantity of tobacco was then given
as a present to each of the new converts, by way
of inducing others to follow the example. Instances
having, however, occurred of late of Tchuktchi be-
ing twice baptized, and even of presenting them-
selves a third time, for the privilege of the presents,
the good people of Irkutsk begin to be tired of
sending either their missionaries or tobacco to such
a people ; nor do I think such a determination, with
regard to other equally devout, but more unsuc-
cessful missionaries, would cause much regret in
the minds of the more tolerant, but less fanatical,
part of the good people of England.

The ceremony finished, the same cavalcade, join-
ed by the other chiefs, or toions, of the Tchuktchi,
proceeded to the abode of the commissary, whither
Mr Matiushkin and I followed. The commissary

THE TCHUKTCHI. 233

then made the usual declaration, that the fair could
not begin until he had received a tribute for the
Emperor Alexander; on which the principal traders
advanced, and laid each a red fox skin at the feet
of the commissary. The names of the donors, and
the value of the skins, were then regularly entered
in the official records, and the commissary proceed-
ed to invest two of the chiefs with a medal and
small sabre, reading to them publicly a letter, which
he is supposed to receive from the chief of Yakutsk,
declaring it to be the Emperor's order so to invest
the chief, or toion ; the clergyman then advanced
to give his benediction to them, and the poor igno-
rants became quite happy, quite proud, and ulti-
mately quite drunk.

The next topic started was that of my desire to
accompany the Tehuktchi through their country ;
and this seemed to require more generalship than
all the others. The commissary, through an inter-
preter, commenced by informing the Tehuktchi
people, that the " Emperor, understanding two
strange ships had appeared upon their coast, was
willing to know who they were, and had accordingly
sent with them, agreeably to their request, two in-
terpreters, one of whom understood their own lan-
guage as well as the Russian, while the other, (mean-
ing myself,) understood the languages of most mari-
time nations. The commissary desired, as from
the Emperor, that all due care should be taken of,
and all due respect paid to us, especially to myself,
who was one of the chief interpreters of the empire/'
After this opening harangue was completed, the
turn of which inspired me with some degree of
hope, one of the most respectable of the Tehuktchi
got up, and said, that " he was in want of no inter-
preter, and therefore would not take one." This

234 THE TCHUKTCHI.

laconic reply completely disconcerted us. The next*
an old and cunning fellow, called Kacharga, said,
" that boys and girls should not be attended to in
a case of such importance; that he, a chief, had
not demanded an interpreter, although a nephew of
his had done so." He expatiated upon the im-
propriety of taking from those youths a communi-
cation of such importance, as should alone have
come from a chief. I could not but approve the
justice of the remark, and began to suspect the whole
was a hoax, and that they had not made any de-
mand of an interpreter. It was therefore told them,
that " two nartes would be of no great consequence
to them, and that as the Emperor had so sent, they
ought to take us, for that we dared not return to
merit his displeasure." A fresh consultation was
hereupon held by the savages, and they came to a
determination, " that as the great Emperor himself
wished to send two interpreters to Behring's Straits,
of course he could have no objection to pay for the
transport of such people." Upon inquiring what
demand they would make, they said " fifty bags of
tobacco," a quantity equalling one hundred and
twenty poods, or near five thousand pounds weight.
To make such a present in advance was madness
in me to think of, and the project appeared, as in-
deed it proved, to be wholly lost ; for they added,
that he *' could be no great Emperor who could not
make so small a present, seeing that he could com-
mand the riches of all his people." They also ob-
served, that " I must be a poor interpreter if I could
not satisfy the demand myself I" Alas I they might
as well have demanded five millions as five thousand
pounds of me. One of the knowing ones observed,
and I mention it as evincing the sagacity of those
people, that " he doubted whether I was an inter-

THE TCHUKTCHI. 235

preter of the great Emperor's," saying, " that I could
not even speak the Russian language, for that he
noticed the Russian Cossack interpreted from the
Tchukskoi language to Mr Matiushkin, and Mr M.
again in a different dialect to me." All this was
too true to be denied. They then asked, " of what
use I could possibly be to them, when I neither
understood the Russian nor Tchukskoi languages ?"
This last truism quite appalled the whole of us, and
from that moment the point was given up. It was
not a little singular that these rude people should
all along have known that a third toion, or chief,
for I was considered as one, was in the fair, and
demanded who and what he was. I have, how-
ever, no idea that their refusal arose either from
fear or ill-will, but simply from avarice.

I next day visited their camp, distant about two
miles and a half. It consisted of three large and
three small tents. The former contained the bulk
of the Tchukskoi people, and the latter were ap-
propriated to the chiefs and more considerable peo-
ple. The large tents were disgustingly dirty and
offensive, exhibiting every species of grossness and
indelicacy. But the smaller were, on the contrary,
very neat, clean, and warm, although without a fire,
in 35° of frost. Indeed they were to me almost
suffocating, being only eight feet long, five broad,
and about three feet high ; and containing three or
four people huddled together in one bed, which is
made of rein- deer skins, and the coverings lined
with white foxes'. The small tents are made also
of the old and hard skins doubled, so that the hair
is both on the inside and out ; a large lamp, with
whale oil or fat, which serves them for a light, com-
municates also considerable warmth. On entering
one of these small dwellings, I found the chief and

236 THE TCHUKTCHI.

his wife perfectly naked, as was also a little girl, their
daughter, of about nine years old, — nor did they
seem to regard our presence, (Mr Matiushkin was
with me,) but ordered the daughter to proceed and
prepare some rein- deer's meat for us ; which she did,
in that state of nudity, by a fire close to the tent.
Having lolled upon the bed about a quarter of an
hour, we were treated with the rein- deer meat half
boiled, of which we of course partook out of com-
pliment. I was, however, obliged to cut short my
visit, from want of air, and the most offensive smell
I had ever endured for so long a time. The toion,
or chief, was a little angry with me for quitting him,
and imputed it to his having the previous day
opposed my design of going through his country.
Their furniture consists of a large kettle, knife,
wooden bowls, platters, spoons or ladles, and an
axe, with flint and steel. Having thus informed
myself of the savage state in which they live, I re-
turned to the fortress, driven by one of the chiefs
in a neat narte, drawn by a couple of rein-deer in a
pretty style. They use regular reins, made of leather
thongs, and a long springing cane, with an ivory
knob to it of the tooth of a sea-horse ; the latter is
exercised occasionally upon the rump of the ani-
mal, on which it is capable of inflicting a pretty
severe blow. I must, however, do justice to the
Tchuktchi for their very kind treatment and con-
duct to their brutes, whether dogs or rein-deer —
appearing quite to consider them as pets. Nay, to
so great a degree is this feeling carried, that among
this savage nation it is considered unmanly even to
ride ; in all ordinary cases they prefer to walk, and
in every other way appear solicitous to lessen the
labour of the animal, permitting only the women and
children to sit in the nartes when upon a journey.

THE FAIR WITH THE TCHUKTCHI. 237

On our return to the fortress, the fair was for-
mally commenced by an harangue of the commis-
sary's, declaring the terms, the tax, and the penal-
ties. The Tchuktchi had in the mean time ascer-
tained the quantity of tobacco in the market by
means of their emissaries, who are exceedingly in-
quisitive and cunningupon that point, their rudeness
and apparent equality giving them free access to
every dwelling which contains any of that commo-
dity. They have their own mode of calculating,
and, before the fair is commenced, they fix the
price of their goods, to which price they adhere
more strictly than the Russians. The fair is held
upon the river Aniuy, opposite to the fortress.
Early in the morning the Tchuktchi arrive at the
place of barter, and forming a semicircle towards
the fortress, the extremes of which reach to the
edge of the ice, dispose their furs upon their nartes,
the owners constantly remaining by them. In the
mean time the Russians place their large bags or
bales of tobacco in the centre of the semicircle, and
then begin to parade and visit the Tchuktchi, in-
quiring the prices, &c. by means of an interpreter.
The work entirely falls upon the Russian, who
drags behind him, for many hours, two hundred-
weight of tobacco, before he can induce the Tchuk-
tchi to barter. The tobacco, on the first or second
day, cannot be exchanged below the terms of an
agreement made between the merchants, as three
or four people are so posted as to ascertain and
judge of the conditions and their validity. Still,
however, they do manage to cheat ; but on dis-
covery the goods are forfeited, and the parties de-
clared incompetent to trade any more. They are
particularly guarded by the law, as to the wetting

238 THE FAIR WITH THE TCHUKTCHI.

of tobacco, or placing stones or other heavy things
with it, to increase the weight.

It is ludicrous enough to stand upon the banks
of the river, and wait the appointed signal for com-
mencing barter each morning. While the Tchuck-
tchi are quietly sitting on their nartes, with their
sleeves drawn back, and their arms thrust into their
bosoms to keep them warm, the Russians, on the
contrary, start pell-mell; pots, pans, kettles, knives,
swords, hatchets, scissors, needles, &c. are rattling
in every direction, like so many chimney-sweepers
on May-day ; priests, officers, Cossacks, and mer-
chants, men, women, and children, alike fantasti-
cally dressed, with articles of traffic, of which to-
bacco constituted the chief. A few bells, pipes,
and corals, also served to grace the dresses of the
more wealthy and whimsical pedlars. For all the
small articles the Russians readily enough received
fresh meat, which was much wanted. The hea-
vier skins and sea-horse teeth also were ready
for sale by the Tchuktchi at a reduced price ; but
the same inducement which the Tchuktchi have
to sell bears', wolves', and rein-deers' skins, name-
ly, their weight, and the expense of transporting
them, operates to prevent the Russians from buy-F
ing them. Sea-horse teeth were particularly flush
on the first day ; but nothing would do, the tax and
penalty were feared, and little business was done.
No instance occurred of the Tchuktchi selling be-
low the rule ; but two Russians, brothers, were de-
tected in it, and committed to prison until the close
of the fair. The price or rate which the Russians
had set, was a martin park, somewhat like a car-
ter's frock, of twenty skins, and fifteen red foxes,
for a hundred-weight of tobacco ; while the Tchuk-
tchi held it at a park and ten red foxes. The se-

THE FAIR WITH THE TCHUKTCHI. 239

cond day was brisker, and more business was done ;
from fifteen red foxes and a park of martins, the
Russians descended, by general consent, to twelve
and eleven foxes. Still the Tchuktchi generally
held on, compelling the Russians, meantime, to
walk about making offers. What, however, with
cunning, and breaking off the agreement, a good
deal of business was done. But the third and last
day's fair was the best and most lucrative for the
savages, when neither tax, nor penalty, nor perjury
were feared ; each individual, from the commissary
to his secretary and priest, and from the Cossacks
to the merchants, all busily employed in under-
mining his neighbour. I could scarcely believe
that in so small a number of individuals there could
exist so great and general a jealousy ; but so it was,
and many quarrels ensued. That my readers may
the better form an opinion of what materials the
people of this part of the world are composed, I
will briefly say, that there is scarcely an act or cir-
cumstance, either of a public or private nature,
which takes place at Irkutsk, Yakutsk, or Okotsk,
which is not immediately and indirectly made
known to, and commented upon by, these worthy
critics of the north-east of Asia ; nor is it more
than an act of justice or truth, to say, that I be-
lieve them to be more generally and better edu-
cated than any other equally numerous settlement
in Siberia, being of the same class of Cossacks. I
hardly know of an instance of the young lads not
reading and writing tolerably well.

I never saw better judges of tobacco, nor of weight,
than the Tclmktclii. I can confidently assert, that
they do not err one pound in the hundred-weight ;
and the detection of the slightest fraud on the part
of the Russians, is sufficient to the Tchuktchi to

240 THE TCMUKTCHI.

cut the party short, and deal no more with him.
Their mode of trying the strength of tobacco is
this : a leaf of it is taken and squeezed in the hand
as hard as possible, and if any appearance of mois-
ture be left in the palm, it is well known that the
tobacco has been watered ; if the leaf preserves the
compressed shape which the force of the hand has
given it, it is weak, but if it recovers and expands
quickly to its original size and shape, the tobacco
is deemed strong. And such is their nicety of
judgment in ascertaining this point, that an allow-
ance of goods is given or received on the celerity
with which the leaf returns, after compression, to
its natural shape.

The last day's sale, although of course the best,
was held back a little by the Tchuktchi wishing to
make the Russians believe that they had no want
of tobacco, as they could get it much cheaper in
the bay of St Lawrence, from the ships which ca-
sually call there. Whatever trade they may carry
on with those vessels, the Tchuktchi appear to
know the value of a more direct and first-hand
trade ; nor can this be doubtful, when the toils and
dangers of their journey, and the small profits, are
considered — at least small when compared with
the profits they sometimes receive from the few
vessels which now and then visit their coast. The
fair lasted seven days, which is three more than
usual ; the two first and the two last, may, how-
ever, be considered as nothing, being occupied
in the lowest species of retail, in which deliveries
are made so low as for sixpence or ninepence.
Upon the last day of the real fair, or fifth from
the commencement, the vodka (spirit) began to
make its appearance, and its effects were success-
ful in inducing the Tchuktchi to bring forward, for

THE TCHUKTCHI. 241

sale, a few of the black and brown foxes. They
sold, however, very dear, and were nearly all taken
back with them to their country.

The trade of the commissary, secretary, their
friends and Cossacks, was done to so great an ex-
tent, and with so little principle, that the licensed
trader could do nothing, except at considerable loss.
The former have a wonderful advantage, also, in
bringing their goods into the market, from being
able to make padvodies,or public levies of dogs, 8cc.
as if for the public service. This, however, can-
not rank among those abuses laid to the charge of
the emperor ; for, if the offenders* salaries were
increased tenfold, the same practice would be con-
tinued : they would still trade, and still act, in the
same unfeeling way. " A want of education, or ava-
rice, begets a want of morality."* Baron Wrangel
has done all he can to remedy this evil, but the
moment he retires from the scene, the same con-
duct will be resorted to, forming, as it does, a con-
siderable revenue to those holding the command.
All extra services of the crown, as those for the
post, expresses, forwarding of the bread, spirits,
and public stores, are thrown upon the poor ; while
priests, nobility, all officers of the crown, and Cos-
sacks, who possess the best means of carrying such
services into execution, are exempt. The poor,
having no dogs, are obliged to hire them at exor-
bitant rates from the rich. Every narte taken for
the use of the public during the fair, is a loss to the
poor of sixty roubles, or near three pounds. The
number of nartes which have been thus at certain
times required, may be conjectured from the fact,

* Auri sacra fames ! qua? non mortalia cogis
Ptctora 1 —
VOL. I. X

242 THE TCHUKTCHI.

that, while I was there, the commissary demanded
one for himself, others for his secretary, servant,
Cossack, and chancellary ; and a sixth for his pro-
visions. The chief priest also demanded severally
for himself, assistant, Cossack, altar, baggage, and
provisions. The object of the former was to re-
gister the receipt of twenty-three red foxes, being
the yasack paid by the Tchuktchi ; that of the lat-
ter, the christening and registering of seven savages,
and all the provisions they carried could not have
exceeded forty pounds weight ; consequently there
could have been no necessity for such padvodies ;
— a demand which, by the by, Baron Wrangel
did not permit being complied with, he being vest-
ed with civil and military powers over the Kolyma
district. I am one of the last persons to discoun-
tenance, in the least degree, the general design of
converting to Christianity the savage tribes dis-
persed over various parts of the world, but I think
it must be regretted that such projects should ever
have the effect of straitening or burdening those
who are born Christians. As to the present case,
it is to be hoped the liberality of the government
will extend to this distant and impoverished place,
by paying the inhabitants for all services perform-
ed for the crown. This would possibly prevent
much abuse, and at least have the effect of disbur-
sing a sum of money, of little consideration to a
government, though highly acceptable to the go-
verned.

The fair at length finished, I prepared to depart
for Nishney Kolymsk, with many thanks to my
venerable Yukagir host for his kindness. I pass-
ed the time very agreeably at his house ; he was
a very good chess-player, and was fond of the
game. His manner of play added another instance

THE TCHUKTCHI. 243

to many I have witnessed, that there is, in various
parts of the world, little or no difference anywhere
in the moving of the pieces. I have played the
game with Yakuti, Tongousi, and Yukagiri ; but
the Tchuktchi laughed at me for such a childish
employment of my time. While upon this sub-
ject, I may remark, as a circumstance relative to
the game of chess, and which has repeatedly sur-
prised me, that wherever a people recognise and
play it, they are infallibly Asiatics. Neither the
Tchuktchi nor the Koriaks understand any thing
of it, but all the Kamtchatdales, and other Asia-
tics, are familiar with it.

The features of the Yukagiri lead me to suppose
them Tartars, and not a race very distinct from the
Yakuti. They are, however, almost Russified by
intermarriages, and the question of their origin is
become difficult. There were at the fair two or
three of the Chuanse, or Chodynse, a tributary
nation, inhabiting the country between the two
Aniuys and the Anadyr : their features are also
Asiatic.

The information I received from the Tchuktchi
by means of the interpreter Kobeleff, son to the
Kobeleff who attended the expedition under Cap-
tain Billings, I will give in the same laconic style
in which 1 communicated it to the governor-gene-
ral of Siberia from Nishney Kolymsk. My letter,
in the first part, described what articles were sold
by the Russians; as tobacco, kettles, knives, spears,
needles, bells, scissors, pipes, axes, spoons, coral
beads, and other small ornaments, a few pieces of
red and blue nankeen, and white cotton. For
these the Tchuktchi brought four or five hundred
sea-horse teeth, a few bears' skins, rein-deer dresses,
and white foxes' ; and these, with some frozen rein-

244 THE TCHUKTCHI.

deer meat, make the whole productions of their own
country. The other articles of fur come from a
nation on the American continent, called the Kar-
gaules ; two of whom were at the fair. They bear
more nearly the features of the Tchuktchi than
those of the hideous-mouthed inhabitants of the
islands in Behring's Straits, although with a browner
or more dirty colour. The furs brought and sent
by them, consist of many thousands of black, brown,
blue, red, and white foxes, martins, and martin
parks, some beavers, river otters, bears, wolves,
sea-dogs, and sea-horse skins ; a few articles of
warm clothing, and some ornaments carved out of
sea-horse teeth, representing the animals common
among them.

The value of the exports on the spot, taking them
at four hundred bags, or forty thousand pounds
weight, of tobacco, at three roubles a pound, is
one hundred and twenty thousand roubles ; to this
add sixty thousand for the value of the other articles,
and we shall make the exports amount to about
one hundred and eighty thousand roubles, or seven
thousand guineas. The value of those articles at Ya-
kutsk, as purchased by the traders, is not one-third,
leaving, after the deducting of carriage expenses,
which are considerable, a clear profit of about one
hundred, or one hundred and twenty per cent, and
would be much more, but that so many people trade
against each other, and that the traders are alto-
gether too numerous. The market is overstocked
with tobacco, not one-half being disposed of. The
value of the imports may be known by reference
to the tax, recollecting that the furs bear almost
the same price at Yakutsk as at the Kolymsk, al-
though distant nearly two thousand miles by land \

THE TCHUKTCHI. 245

the return of the horses, however, enables the mer-
chants to go back cheap.

A bag of tobacco of one hundred pounds weight,
worth three hundred roubles, and iron work of fifty
or sixty roubles value, is exchanged for a martin
park, worth ninety and one hundred roubles ; fif-
teen red foxes, two hundred and fifty to three
hundred roubles ; and a pair of boots and park of
rein-deer skin, worth about forty or fifty roubles :
making altogether about four hundred roubles,
which brings the exchange on the spot, as nearly as
can be, equal, for the tax is not adhered to. Now,
if one bag of tobacco produce four hundred, four
hundred bags will be equal to one hundred and
sixty thousand roubles, which constitute the im-
ports, being the same value as at Yakutsk. The
merchants have also the benefit of a great trade, on
their journey along the rivers, with the Yakuti ;
and this is really the most advantageous branch of
it, for they will extort even three and four hundred
per cent.

The Tchuktchi parted with less than a third of
their most valuable furs, taking the rest back. I
inferred hence, that they have not the means of
conveyance for more than four hundred bags of
tobacco, and the other articles sold with these ;
otherwise, from their love of that article, and the
demand for it by the American savages, they would
no doubt purchase it for the small and valuable
furs. Nor is this idea of mine rendered less weighty,
when I inform my readers that so tenacious are the
Tchuktchi of surcharging their rein-deer, and so
great is their love of tobacco, that every male adult,
on quitting the fair, carries upon his own back from
forty to fifty pounds weight ; until the consump-
tion of provisions enables him fearlessly to put it up-
x2

246 THE TCHUKTCHI.

on the narte. Indeed, the demand for this commo-
dity is so great, that^at the Anadyrsk and Idgiginsk
fairs the Russians do not give in barter with the
Tchuktchi one-half of the quantity which is given
at Kolymsk; and consequently the Anadyr Tchuk-
tchi are prohibited by the rest of their nation from
trading to the Kolymsk, for fear of spoiling the
market.

There were this year at the fair, which is term-
ed a good one, two hundred and fifty nartes, and
five hundred rein-deer, with sixty-eight men, sixty
women, and fifty-six children. Each rein-deer can
draw three or four poods, or one hundred and fifty
pounds weight. Those which come to the fair re-
turn only to the river Tchaon, where they are ex-
changed for those which belong to, and which had
come from, the Bay of St Lawrence. Seventy-
five and ninety days are required for them to per-
form the journey, which is about eight hundred
vorsts, or five hundred miles.

There were three chiefs at the fair ; first, Ye-
brashka, who commands the tribes inhabiting the
banks of the Tchaon, Packla, and Kvata rivers,
as well as the country towards Shelatskoi Noss.
Second, Valetka, chief of the Belo Morsky Tchuk-
tchi, which tribe inhabits the eastern sea-coast,
from Cape North to the Bay of Klasheui. Thirds
Kacharga, who commands the Tchukskoi Noss, or
East Cape tribe, who inhabit the Noss, and the
country from thence to the Bay of St Lawrence.
The first are wanderers, and live by their rein-
deer, which are employed for burden between the
river Tchaon and the fair, and in the trade of sea-
horse teeth. The second subsist almost entirely
by fishing and hunting, added to a small tribute or
toll of tobacco, which is paid by their southern

THE TCHUKTCHI. 247

neighbours for a free passage along their coast ;
they have no rein-deer. The third tribe subsist
by traffic and the breeding of rein-deer, of whicli
they have considerable herds, and are employed
from the Bay of St Lawrence to the banks of the
Tchaon. There is also a fourth chief, who com-
mands the Tchuktchi of Anadyr Noss, a tribe who
inhabit the country and banks of the Anadyr, and
also subsist by traffic and the breeding of rein-deer.
These chiefs live equally distant from each other,
about one hundred and fifty or two hundred miles,
and carry on a sort of intercourse by means of the
eastern- coast Tchuktchi, who are provided with
baidares.

The Tchukskoi Noss race are the most nume-
rous ; those of the eastern coast the most warlike
and hardy ; the Tchaon, or Shelatskoi, are the most
friendly ; and those on the Anadyr Noss are the
richest. The whole are nominally independent,
but actually tributary; for the yasack, though small,
is enforced, and conscientiously paid. Their exist-
ence as an independent tribe hangs on the will of
Russia, for that independence will at any time be
sacrificed to retain their trade. Their whole num-
ber cannot exceed four or five thousand. The Kar-
gaoules are represented by them as far more nume-
rous, but the Tchuktchi cannot count past a hun-
dred, or ten tens, that is, their fingers ten times
over. Each tribe has a different dialect of the same
language, and all understand one another, though
the dialects are extremely difficult to articulate ;
so much so, that the interpreters, after the three
days of the fair, are generally laid up with a sore
throat.

In the conversation I had with the toions, or
chiefs, (the same word is used in America, and in

24-8 THE TCHUKTCHI.

the same sense,) I understood them to have no
knowledge or tradition of any land north of theirs ;
that the sea is for ten months so frozen that no-
thing but mountains of ice are visible ; and that
during the months of August and September the
ice breaks up, but not in such a manner as to ad-
mit a passage for vessels. They told me also that
large herds of rein-deer roam from cape to cape,
but do not come from the north beyond the sea.
To the west of Shelatskoi Noss, termed by them
Errie, (a word also of the same import as in Ame-
rica, signifying a great sea or lake,) they say there
is a large and very deep bay, into which the Packla
and Tchaon discharge their waters ; and in this
bay two islands, the one called A yon, small and
near the Noss, abounding in sea-horse teeth ; the
other, Ulerie, large, and producing fine moss for
the rein-deer. The latter has some few residents
both in winter and summer ; in the former season
catching and killing wild rein-deer for the fair, in
the latter, feeding the tame rein-deer. I was also
told, that half-way across the south side of the bay
there is a high mountain of rock, named since, by
Baron Wrangel, Cape Matiushkin. That from
their habitations on the Tchaon and Packla rivers
to Shelatskoi Noss it is only one day's journey with
rein- deer, a pair of which are represented by them
as capable, upon an emergency, and in hard frosty
weather, of drawing a sledge with one person fifty
or sixty miles. Shelatskoi Noss does not, by their
report, run far into the sea, but is elevated, and
has a narrow passage between it and their coun-
try ; in truth, an isthmus, which forms a small bay,
without islands, to the east of the Noss. I was
also made to understand that the coast, from the bay
on the east of the Noss, trends a little to the right

THE TCHUKTCIII. 249

of the rising- sun. The Noss is formed by the
Tchaon and Packla rivers on the west, and the
Kvata and Ekakta on the east ; and the Tchaon
bay by Shelatskoi Noss and the island of Illerie ;
which latter will, of course, be understood as the
island of Sabedei. The Pogitcha river is repre-
sented as not the same with the Anadyr, but a
small yet rapid stream, which, from the east, enters
the Tchaon. And, lastly, that the whole of their
country is so mountainous, so barren, and so deep
in snow, that laden rein- deer cannot come straight
from the Bay of St Lawrence, but are obliged to
coast along the valleys on the shore, until they reach
the Packla, where their route changes from N.W.
to S.W.

Fish is said to abound in the northern rivers on
the eastern coast, as well as in the Bay of St Law-
rence, which last is the only place where ships can
anchor, and is formed by the Tchukskoi and Ana-
dyrskoi Nosses. They have no knowledge nor
tradition of any nation called the Shellages, but
they recognise the word Kopai, as applicable to
the name of a person in their language. They
know nothing either of their origin or first settle*-
ment in the country, nor of the Tartar nations sub-

»ject to Russia, nor do they understand any Tartar
words. Their language bears no affinity to the
Asiatic, though it is understood by the Koriaks.
The features of the Tchuktchi, their manners and
customs, pronounce them of American origin, of
which the shaving of their heads, puncturing of
their bodies, wearing large ear-rings, their inde-
pendentand swaggering way of walking, their dress,
and superstitious ideas, are also evident proofs ;
nor is it less than probable that the Esquimaux,
and other tribes of Arctic Americans, may haw

250 THE TCHUKTCHI.

descended from them, for several words of their
languages are alike, and their dress perfectly simi-
lar. That New Siberia has been inhabited, there
is no doubt ; many huts or yourtes still existing,
and there are traditions in Siberia of tribes having
been compelled, from persecution, the small-pox,
as well as from disease, to quit their lands for those
beyond the seas.

The persons of the Tchuktchi are not peculiarly
large, though their dress, whicli is clean, but of
enormous size, gives them almost a gigantic appear-
ance. They have fair or clear skins, but ordinary
though masculine features. In conduct they are
wild and rude. They have no diseases, and live
to a great age ; two of the chiefs at the fair being
past seventy, as calculated by the number of voy-
ages they had made, ere they accompanied Captain
Billings. I did not find them idolatrously fond of
spirits, as they refused to change furs for that alone,
although they would readily receive it, and in pre-
ference bargain with the donors. They appeared
a bold, suspicious, and irascible people, and, though
veiy avaricious, perfectly honest, and not inhospi-
table. They appear to trust to their nominal inde-
pendence, by concealing their actual weakness, and
magnifying their numerical strength. They have a
respect for their chiefs, and do not liveinthat perfect
state of equality which has been supposed, though
they purposely affect that equality in the presence of
the Russians ; when the most common of their na-
tion will enter a Russian dwelling, behave rude and
churlish, keep his cap on, take what he wants with-
out asking, and ultimately quit without the slightest
thanks, acknowledgment, or appearance of feeling.
The chiefs, on the contrary, are extremely correct
in all that concerns their conduct with the Rus-

THE TCHUKTCHI. 251

siaus ; sitting with their caps oft", asking for what
they want, and making themselves by no means
unacceptable guests.

The whole of them are ingenious, cunning, in-
dustrious, and excellent mechanics, which is proved
by the symmetry, neatness, and quantity of their
nartes, clothes, tents, arms, and ornaments. They
have no religion, but a sort of regard to some sor-
cerers or people held by them in veneration. They
are allowed to retain five wives, whom they may
put to death upon discovery of any criminal inter-
course ; holding also the power of compelling them
to such criminal intercourse, — an act by no means
unfrequent, when the husband is in want of an heir
or son.

Upon the whole, the Tchuktchi appear to be ap-
proaching to Russian subjection ; and I am confi-
dent they would never object to a traveller or tra-
vellers exploring their inhospitable country, pro-
vided they received a remuneration ; and nothing
prevented my being able to accompany them, save
their avarice and my poverty. I felt, however,
happy in establishing the fact of being permitted
to go on some terms, because it will enable the
Russian government to take the first opportunity
of exploring their country. Yet I would advise
such as are employed to be particular in their con-
duct ; they will have to do with a people jealous
and suspicious, but who, although cautious in gi-
ving their word, are truly faithful in keeping it. He
who shall feel inclined to accompany such a savage
race through their inhospitable and uninteresting
country, must doubtless be prepared to undergo very
great fatigues and privations ; he should be inured
to cold, as he will doubtless have to walk the whole
distance, but on no day exceeding four or five miles.

252 THE TCHUKTCHI.

He should also be tall, stout, and strong, for such,
and such only, the Tchuktchi both fear, obey, and
respect.

The manner of dressing their food is by boiling,
when wood can be procured, which, however, is not
frequently the case during the winter season. They
then generally consume frozen meat or fish, which,
with them, as with the others in rein-deer coun-
tries, is considered a necessary and extravagant
luxury ; warm and raw marrow is also their greatest
delicacy. The flavour of their meat is most exqui-
site, free from that soft and flabby taste common
to rein-deer and veal, with a flavour somewhat be-
tween beef and mutton, more tender than the one,
and less so than the other. They drink tea, and
are exceedingly fond of sugar. Tobacco is their
great commodity, which they eat, chew, smoke,
and snuff at the same time. I have seen boys and
girls of nine or ten years of age, put a large leaf
of tobacco into their mouths, without permitting
any saliva to escape ; nor will they put aside the
tobacco should meat be offered to them, but con-
tinue consuming both together. They are said, no
doubt correctly, to drink only snow water during
the winter ; to melt which, when no wood is to be
had, very disgusting and dirty means are resorted
to. Nothing is so acceptable to a rein-deer as hu-
man urine, and I have seen them even run to get
it as occasion offered.

In closing the account of this strange people, I
may mention two remarkable circumstances: a
kettle or cooking utensil is in their language called
cookie, but whether the word proceeds, as I con-
jecture, from the remembrance of the name of Cap-
tain Cook, who first supplied them with that utensil,
or from the English word denoting the use it is ap-
G

BARON WRANGEl/s EXPEDITION. 253

plied to, I admit to be a question. To these ves-
sels, which are of iron, they are much attached, and
the stronger and stouter they are, the better ; nor
will any consideration induce them to take or pur-
chase a copper vessel, although lined with tin, as they
consider it poisonous. Plain raw iron are preferred,
and these they will fearlessly, and with impunity,
handle in a temperature of forty degrees of frost by
Reaumur. The other circumstance to which I al-
lude, is the occasional migration of large armies of
mice, either from, or to, this continent and America.
Of the annual movements of these small but nu-
merous animals in the peninsula of Kamtchatka, I
have little doubt ; and contrasting or weighing that
knowledge, with the circumstance that most of the
clothing of the Tchuktchi is embroidered with the
skins of mice, I consider the assertion of their an-
nual migration as perfectly warranted.

My return to the Kolyma occupied me only two
days, partly from lightness of carriage, and partly
from the hunger of the dogs, there being little or
none of their common food offering for sale on the
banks of the Aniuy. I was most happy to meet with
the Baron Wrangel, who had returned from his expe-
dition round Shelatskoi Noss. I received from him
the following account. He was absent a month
upon the whole, and followed the course laid down
in the chart of reference at the end of the second
volume, which proves that the information I had
derived from the Tchuktchi was perfectly correct ;
as well as the contents of my memorial to the Royal
Society, which the baron had previously read. A
bay exists to the east of Shelatskoi Noss, which is
in about 70° 5' latitude ; the longitude about 175°
E., or 6° east of Baranov Kamene ; which is exactly
half way between Cape North and Baranov Kamene.
vol. i. y 8

254

Tchaon Bay, with its two islands, and the dwell-
ings between the island of Illere, or Sabedei of
Shalaouroff, and the main-land, were also recog-
nised by the baron. They were doubtless inhabited,
as the expedition was in their tracks for three days.
The run of the coast from the Kolyma to Shelatskoi
Noss, is about E.N.E. and that from the Noss to
the east, very easterly from Cape Kuzmin.

No doubt whatever can now be entertained of
Deshneff having gone round the N.E. cape, no other
impediment but ice appearing to exist ; as little, or
less, need there be, of Shalaouroff's having reached
it, he having actually described the formation of
Tchaon Bay, although he placed it too far to the
northward, as he did also Shelatskoi Noss ; while
in fact the theory of Mr Coxe respecting this coun-
try is perfectly correct. Baron Wrangel and Cook
may be said to have seen across the intervening
space which has not actually been traversed by
Europeans. I will, however, leave this scientific
argument to the merits of the appendix, and change
it for an introduction of some extracts from Baron
Wrangel's letter to me, after his first journey across
the Frozen Sea, and the track of which will appear
upon the chart annexed. The baron observes, that,
although I should otherwise hear all particulars
about the expedition to the north from the Kolyma,
still he feels disposed to give me some information
on the subject. " I have," he continues, " used
your suggestion with some alterations, and what
has been done during the last voyage, is certainly
done by this invention of yours ; used in such a
manner as I used it, it proved to be tres-risquant.
It was indeed a very happy accident, that the white
bears, having circumnavigated the ice mountain, on
the top of which I had made the storehouse, several

EXPEDITION. 255

times, did not attempt to ascend it, as tbey, the
bears, would have had no difficulty in destroying
such fortifications, although I before thought to the
contrary, especially as the dog-master said, that
none of the dreadful white-bear regiment had either
force or ability to rob us either of our own or the
dogs' provisions, out of its strong concealment.
Nevertheless I have seen, during the late voyage,
such tricks of these white bears, that the precau-
tions I took for the preservation of our provisions,
I call a happy accident. Should I make the same
voyage the next spring, I will take no fire-wood at
all, but take wood prepared to build a stronger
cellar within the ice, and dry moss, with fish oil,
shall serve to boil the tea-kettle ; a circumstance
which will much relieve the dogs as to the point of
weight, as well as serve us upon our return in re-
spect of fire-wood."

Although I cannot but do justice to the baron's
general and scientific knowledge, I confess I do not
know precisely what he means by the term happy
accident. The idea I suggested was to prevent an
accident, and I suppose, therefore, the baron meant
that it was a happy circumstance that the bears did
not ascend the mountain, as in that case the pre-
cautions taken would have been useless. To ena-
ble the baron to go farther, with more ease to the
dogs, two days' provisions for the homeward voy-
age were to be buried at every third day's out-
ward voyage ; the plan of securing such provisions
of course, must be left entirely to the ingenuity of
the party travelling, as well as to the means pre-
sented by the situation of the ice. But I think,
wifh half-a-dozen people, I could secure provisions
in such a manner as, not indeed to elude the saga-
city of the bears, but to prove the inefheacy of their

256 EARON WRANGEl/s

strength when put in competition with the sagacity
of man.

The baron next proceeds to point out the rather
dangerous situation in which he was latterly placed,
the last nine days of his journey being over a field
of ice, in general but half a foot thick, although
only in the latter part of April. During many
parts of this journey, they came to open channels,
five and seven feet wide, and each night brought
with it strong north and north-west winds, which
made the ice tremble beneath their cold pillows.
At times, sounds like the roar of thunder would
assail their ears, yet prove only to be the shatter-
ing of ice-hills, and the severing of the fields of
ice. At one period, the baron and his friend, Mr
Matiushkin, were gone in quest of a white bear to
feed the dogs which had suffered much, when the
ice broke under their feet with such a noise that
Mr M. actually called out, " What will now be-
come of us ?" when the baron was so convinced of
its being thunder, that he looked to the south, in
expectation of seeing the lightning that must pre-
cede the second peal. The Cossacks, however,
pointed out that the ice was breaking, which in-
duced him to make the best of his way towards the
close ice, then distant three or four miles. The
dog-master and Cossacks expressed much regret at
continuing the direct course, but, fortunately, they
arrived safe, and reached the Kolyma in the begin-
ning of May. I have used the term fortunate, as
the subsequent spring and summer, or rather the
continuation of winter, proved the most extraordi-
nary ever known at the Kolyma ; a severity at-
tending them which might have permitted the com-
mander of the expedition to risk much more in
point of time than Baron Wrangel then thought

EXPEDITION. 257

prudent. In one of the following seasons he was
actually cast away so early as the month of March ;
which period, so far from being entertained or con-
sidered as a dangerous one, is usually that allotted
to the commencement of a journey over the ice.
In these high latitudes there is no actual criterion
how to judge of the seasons.

The ice in the year 1821 did not break up until
the 29th May O. S. The coldness of the summer
was most extraordinary. On the 20th June, 2d
July, and 3d August, there was much snow, and
one degree and a half of cold of Reaumur, with-
out intermission, accompanied with constant N.W.
gales. The month of May, although so cold, was
the only agreeable weather during spring or sum-
mer ; and the appearances of a bad season were
very distressing. Neither the small rivers running
into the Kolyma, nor the Kolyma itself, had, on
the 15th of August, produced any fish, in conse-
quence of the height of the waters. The only hope
of the poor inhabitants, and of the expedition, rest-
ed on the interval betwixt the time of the river
freezing and the month of December. On the 13th
of August, the baron received information that the
rein-deer chase on the Aniuy and Omelon had en-
tirely failed, and that the Yukagiri were in a state
of starvation. The 22d of August it snowed hard,
and continued to snow till the 25th, when the lakes
were all frozen over. On the 30th August Baron
Wrangel was frozen up in a boat in the Kolyma,
and hoary winter was dated from that period, as
the river thence became passable for dogs and
nartes. I shall here conclude my observations re-
specting this indefatigable young officer, by saying,
that for a combination of personal exertion and sa-
crifice, with the most undoubted scientific know-
y 2

258 baron wrangel's expedition.

ledge, especially that of practical and theoretical
astronomy, so necessary to conduct an expedition
of this nature, I helieve Baron Wrangel has no
equal in the Russian navy. Nor will the opinion
I have thus candidly given, in the first edition of
my work, have the less weight with the thinking
part of the community, when I acquaint them with
the hazardous, nay perilous, but fortunate result of
his last enterprising attempt, in which he, by a
happy accident, was enabled to trace the Asia-
tic coast from Shelatskoi Noss to Serdze Kamene.
The account of it will also be found in the Ap-
pendix.

[ 259 ]

CHAPTER VIII.

Departure from the Kolyma — Lapteff— -Sredne Kolymsk—
Kosatchey Ostrog — Verchne Kolymsk — The Zyzanka —
Hokusolbetie and Bochiera — Boulouktak — Kourouack
— Terachtack, &c. — Kourdak — Andigezan — lntack —
Omekon — Nera — Indigirka, Rivers — The Tongousi
Tribe — The Koudousou and Kounounaksala Rivers—
The Okota— Okotsk.

Winter was still raging with all its severity,
when I prepared to quit the Kolyma. I could now,
indeed, have no inducement to remain longer ; my
desire of penetrating through the country of the
Tchuktchi no longer existed, but for the purpose
of getting across to the opposite continent : and as
I had failed, through the avarice of the savages, I
determined to proceed to Okotsk, by the direct
route, in spite of the remonstrances of the commis-
sary, Cossacks, and Yakuti, who were ordered to
attend me wherever I might go. The proper mode
was by that I had previously come ; but I wish-
ed of course to avoid near two thousand miles
of such sameness, independent of my desire to
reach Okotsk by the first of June. The Yakuti
were so fearful of a route of the kind, that they
even attempted to bribe me with presents to take
another ; but I was resolutely fixed upon the new
route, and the result will show that I had only
myself to thank for the difficulties I encountered.

2C0 DEPARTURE FROM THE KOLYMA.

and the narrow escapes I had so often for my life.
To me, however, the hardest day's work was fol-
lowed hy the happiest evening, and the soundest
sleep as I lay down on my snow pillow.

With grateful recollections of the hospitality
and kind treatment I had experienced from every
individual in the commissariat of Kolyma, I de-
parted on the 27th of March in a narte royal, that
is, one drawn by thirteen dogs, who took me eighty
miles in one day ; a prodigious day's journey, as it is
considered in this part of the world, for the same
dogs to perforin. The 1st of May is, however,
the period usually calculated on for the Omekon
and other rivers breaking up, and I was a long dis-
tance from them ; I was therefore compelled to
hasten, to prevent a detention on the banks of
them for six weeks or more. I could not but feel
melancholy and sick at heart at parting as it were
from a brother, in the person of Baron Wrangel.
However, I pushed forward, and in three days
reached Lapteff, one hundred and eighty miles from
Nishney Kolymsk. The weather was most vari-
able ; in the early part of the morning we had
15° of frost, at noon as many of heat, from the
reflection of the sun, and in the evening again 10°
of frost. The mornings, before the sun appeared,
were the coldest I ever endured, being really more
severe than 40° of frost, owing to the heavy fogs
which prevail in the latter end of March and be-
ginning of April, and which strike an indescribable
cold to the whole frame.

At Lapteff I met my old friend, the venerable
prince of ninety-one. He had just returned from
a visit to another prince, twenty miles distant, and
insisted upon accompanying me the following
morning; and such was his health and capability

LAPTEFF. 261

to bear the piercing morning air, that while I was
compelled to walk, as it seemed, to save my life,
the old Yakut prince was quietly walking his horse
to a sort of humming tune, which may be said to
constitute a Yakut's song. There is no regular
meaning in what they sing, being made up of any
incidental allusions to the weather, trees, rivers,
fatigues, horses, and the like, according to the im-
mediate impulse of the moment.

From Lapteff I continued my route to Sredne
Kolymsk, where I arrived on the fifth day at noon,
much fatigued. I was exceedingly gratified with
the repetition of old kindnesses and remembrances
on the part of the inhabitants as I came along.
They were cheerfully looking forward to an early
summer, in which, alas ! they were bitterly disap-
pointed. They were constantly presenting me with
the first partridges and hares, which the approach-
ing sun had sent in advance ; and even other early
delicacies were given me in aid of the long jour-
ney I had before me.

The day that I reached Sredne Kolymsk I start-
ed a large grey wolf, and, being on horseback, was
nearly thrown into the snow, as I had repeatedly
been before. A burnt child is said to dread the
fire, so a bit horse dreads a wolf ; the one I rode
had so suffered. The only pleasure I experienced
in Sredne Kolymsk was being housed in the com-
fortable abode of my old attendant, Peter Treche-
koff, who was, in the absence of the commissary,
chief of the department. I renewed the protesta-
tions of my fidelity and good-will towards a person
I felt so highly indebted to; and the certificate
which I gave him of his extraordinary good con-
duct and kindness towards me, was, I am happy
to say, the occasion of his being made a sergeant ;

2G2 SREDNE KOLYMSK.

beyond which, though he does not at present aspire,
he will necessarily attain, as any under officer,
whose conduct is good in that rank for a certain
number of years, may demand the rank of an offi-
cer as a recompense. Surely this is a regulation
well worthy of imitation in every country. What
can be a greater incentive to good conduct, in any
department under a government, than the fact of
knowing that both a pecuniary and honorary re-
ward attends the exertions of every individual ?
Patience, Cossack, and you will be the Hetman !
is an encouraging Russian proverb.

I remained with my old friend a couple of davs,
awaiting a fresh Cossack, who was ordered to at-
tend me to Okotsk. I felt most happy in prepa-
ring once more to tread a new road, and throw
aside the difficulties which wore for ever thundered
in my ears. The poor young love-sick Cossack
destined to attend me I could not but pity; he had
a positive fear of going to Okotsk, so far from his
wife, a pretty young girl, and then again to Ya-
kutsk, where he would be detained five or six
months, and thus be kept from his home at least
a twelvemonth. These, indeed, were no small
complaints. Leaving his home at that time had
this additional consequence, that his presence was
then most wanted to assist in fishing. The case
was not, however, so bad as my readers may ima-
gine ; for when a Cossack is absent from his home
upon the public service, his family still receive the
proportion of fish which would have accrued to him
had he been present ; on such friendly terms do
the people live in this part of the world. And up-
on my promising him that he should return direct
to the Kolyma, he was reconciled, and we prepa-
red to depart. Nor was my promise rendered of

KOSATCHEY OSTROG. 263

none effect by Vladimir Ushinsky, tlie chief of
Okotsk ; on the contrary, more than I had promi-
sed, unminister like, was done for the benefit of
this otherwise almost useless Cossack, whose sick-
ness at heart had several times nearly proved his
and my ruin.

Our first day's journey was to a place called
Kasachey, sixty miles, by a good path, on the
Kolyma, abounding with summer establishments
for fishing, else a dreary low waste, producing no-
thing but stunted wood. I felt really happy in the
evening in the comfortable residence of a rich Ya-
kut, who had married a Cossack's daughter. She
was dreadfully afflicted with the hiccoughs, and I
again tried my medical skill, by giving her a slap
on the back. It had no effect ; and her husband
then told me that she had the dieavel ootra, or the
devil in her belly. It was apparent there was
something in the case ; but whether a devil or a
child I do not pretend to know. Whatever it was,
it effectually deprived me of sleep. The malady
continued the whole night ; though it seems the
parties afflicted with it can, during the fit, sleep
soundly ; but on the instance I have this day seen
of its effects upon a lovely young woman I will
not dwell, for it is too melancholy.

The following day, over numerous large lakes
and a rich pasture country, I resumed my journey.
Many Yakuti live in the environs, employed in
fishing, and in the chase of bears, rein-deer, sables,
and squirrels ; the latter are here innumerable. In
the afternoon we were thrown into a snow pit ;
the fall and plunging of our horses threw us off
our saddles ; and the horses, finding themselves
disengaged from their burdens, scrambled up the
pit, and left us and our baggage to shift as we

264 KOSATCHEY OSTROG.

could. After ten miles walk we reached a yourte.
whose owner saddled his own beasts, and sent
them for the baggage ; while our own Yakuti went
in search of their own horses. I was, meantime,
made perfectly comfortable, and amused myself
with the tricks of a shamane, or sorcerer, some of
winch were indeed strange enough. He wore a
sort of short surtout, covered over with a variety
of small pieces of iron, about the size and shape of
the pointed blade of a penknife ; his boots were
embroidered, as were also his cap and gloves. The
performance of course began by smoking a pipe ;
then taking his tambourine and bolouyak, or tam-
bourine-stick, he seated himself cross-legged near
the person to be exorcised, and began to sing a
doleful ditty, accompanied by more doleful music ;
the import of the song I could not gather. After
this introduction he began to jump, hop, and fling-
about, roaring, screaming, and making the most
hideous distortions of face and body, so that I ac-
tually believed him to be mad. I never felt more;
pain for any one than I felt for this shamane, cer-
tainly much more than for the sick person on whose
behalf his incantations were made. After this vio-
lent exercise he drew his knife, and, to all appear-
ance, plunged it into his belly. I really felt alarm-
ed, believing that he had actually committed sui-
cide ; he, however, drew back the knife in my pre-
sence, without any effusion of blood, and, indeed,
without any actual incision being made. He then
formally announced that the evil spirit would not
triumph, provided the customary sacrifice was made
of a fat mare. The party was then dismissed, with
an invitation to come to the next day's feast, when
the mare was to be cooked. In all this conjuration
there was indeed no slight of hand, but rather a
1

KOSATCHEY OSTROG. 265

slight of the belly ; and the case is, that the sha-
manes are, from habit, accustomed to draw in that
part of the belly which the knife is supposed to
penetrate, to a distance of five or six inches ; they
never, however, use other than their own knives,
from fear, I presume, of their being too long. The
power of these impostors over the ignorant multi-
tude is very great, but they do not wander far from
their principality, nor are they numerous. Their
pretensions extend to the cure of diseases, chan-
ging the weather, affording successful chase, and
finding stolen things.

In the early part of the evening, a ludicrous cir-
cumstance occurred betwixt the above shamane and
myself. I had invited him to take tea with me ;
and when he came, I put a little tobacco in the
palm of my Cossack's hand to give to the shamane.
The Cossack, however, carelessly or ignorantly,put
it into the tea-kettle, supposing it to be tea, and the
mistake was not known until the kettle was brought
boiling hot, and, pouring it out, we discovered by
the flavour that it was tobacco-water. The sha-
mane was highly indignant and enraged, the peo-
ple of the house still more so, and the sick person
must die, unless a second sacrifice was made. This
I was extremely anxious to avoid ; and the only
remedy I had was to part with half of the spirits I
possessed, which, although a loss of consequence
to me, I readily endured, to prevent the impostor
from procuring a second gormandizing feast at the
expense, if not the ruin, of the poor people. As it
was, the shamane got roaring drunk on the result
of the mistake, and so I left him.

The horses did not return with the baggage till
near midnight, when one bag of my clothing was
missing, as well as my pipe : the last, a serious

vol. i. z

266 VERCHNE KOLYMSK.

loss, as it was my friend, companion, comforter, and
almost sole enjoyment. I could have mourned for
it, like Sancho after his Dapple; but it was fruit-
less, and I accordingly wished the possessor the
enjoyment of it for my sake. Next day, over a
stubby heath, affording a fine view of the moun-
tains to the south-east, we gained sixty miles. I
observed on the lakes numerous parties fishing
through the ice, who gave me a supply whenever
I desired it. On the fourth day I reached Verch-
ne Kolymsk late in the evening, suffering much
from the loss of skin, which left my nose and lips
bare. The whole distance was two hundred and
fifty miles.

Verchne Kolymsk is considered a large village,
having fifteen dwellings, with near two hundred
inhabitants. It stands in a most bleak and exposed
situation, on the right bank of the Yasashna, at
about a mile from its junction with the Kolyma. It
was at this place that the vessels for Captain Bil-
lings's expedition were built, the country to the
southward abounding in fine timber ; and yet it is
considered, although only so far north as the lati-
tude 60° 30', to be one of the coldest places in
Eastern Siberia, the thermometer falling as low as
43° of Reaumur. Verchne Kolymsk has nothing
remarkable to boast of but a large cross erected by
Billings, on which are cut out the names of the
European people who composed his expedition —
an expedition which performed nothing. I remain-
ed one day to change my Cossack, preferring ra-
ther to beat up for a volunteer than to take on the
old one, but to no purpose. Whether from fear of
me or the journey it is unnecessary to inquire, but
the old one must go !

My route from the Kolyma was towards the

THE ZYZANKA. 267

Koussoul Rolouktak, a lake so named from a fish
which inhabits it. The first part of the journey
was attended with a little snow, hut I felt consol-
ed by the number of pigeons and hares which in-
creased our sea stores, for thus I may name them,
since I had really more to do with water than with
land. At length I reached the Zyzanka, and, at
twenty miles farther, the last habitation of the Ko-
lyma district. We halted on a rocky hill, and en-
countered some difficulty in bringing fire-wood for
the night, from a distance of at least half a mile.
The second day, with infinite labour, through deep
and soft snow, we reached twenty miles farther,
encamping at the foot of the mountains which I
had before seen stretching from the south-east.
The guide who, though a Yakut, spoke Russian
well, proved a choice and jovial fellow ; while the
Cossack, a dull and melancholy milk-sop, was
throwing every possible obstacle in my way, to in-
duce me to take the other road, or return. This,
it appears from letters which I have since receiv-
ed, he was directed to do by a person holding an
official situation ; an act which, if known at the go-
vernment of Yakutsk, Irkutsk, or St Petersburg,
would, I am sure, have been visited with severe
punishment ; but commissaries in such places are
generally both mean and worthless. Still along
the banks of the Zyzanka we continued to the
south-west, picking up at intervals partridges and
hares which had fallen in the traps. The scenery
at times somewhat interesting, and the hills com-
posed of slate.

The road I was now upon was that formerly
used by the post from Yakutsk to the river Ko-
lyma, that is, by way of Okotsk, but discontinued
in consequence of the difficulties which constantly

268 HOKUSOLBETIE AND BOCHIERA RIVERS.

presented themselves, as well as by the discovery
of the direct route I had before undertaken, and of
which I have given a sketch. By this route a man
can never be satisfied, as when there is much snow,
there is more labour ; and when little snow, much
water; and when no snow, much ice and more
danger, for the ice then becomes so slippery as to
be almost impassable.

The reflection of the sun at first produced severe
effects upon my eyes ; but I met it with a good
grace, as neither sun nor snow would give way to
me. From the Zyzanka I entered a narrow defile
formed by two lofty ranges of mountains, the val-
ley betwixt which runs from east to west; the
latter was my course. The southern range was
bold and perpendicular, and consequently of bare
rock. The northern branch, which was open to
the south, rose into gentle and luxuriant eminences,
affording a fine contrast to the desolation on the
left. Our party continued to feed upon partridges
and hares from the charity traps. The birds are
beguiled by touching a small wooden fork, sup*
porting a log or tree, which falls direct on the ani-
mal and causes instant death. These traps are so
numerous, that I have in a day got three and four
braces of hares and partridges. They are set by
the wandering Yakuti and Tongousi, open to all
the world, with an understanding only that the trap
shall be again set — no hard condition to hungry
people.

We at length entered upon the Hokusolbetie
and Bochiera, two rivers, which, entering the
Zyzanka at a narrow defile, form a sort of frozen
torrent, over which the horses had great difficulty
to pass, as piles of ice lay in every cross direction.
The Cossack and guide now began also to suffer,

THE ZYZANKA. 269

while I was gaining ground from habit and su-
perior strength of constitution. The guide was
almost blind, while the Cossack was afflicted with
a severe diarrhoea arising from want of food, for
our game had failed us, and he was too much a
Greek to eat horse-meat. It was, however, his
own fault, for he always ate voraciously whenever
an occasion offered. With these two invalids I
resumed the journey, prescribing for them, but
without effect, and at noon was obliged again to
halt, as they were unable to proceed. The heat
of the sun by Fahrenheit was 80°, and the route
was bad, ascending a perilous and laborious chain
of elevated hills. The work which now devolved
upon me was so much more than ordinary, that I
could not but feel it severely ; it was, however, my
duty to assist those whom I had demanded to as-
sist me, and I could make no complaint.

The snow was deep but soft ; the noon-day heat
melting the surface, and the night's frost again
freezing it, just sufficiently to bear a man with
snow shoes ; so that, in addition to our other diffi-
culties, the horses began to fail. We nevertheless
continued our route, gaining the Zyzanka, and lat-
terly crossing the mountains which confine it. We
then entered the most dismal, dreary, and inhos-
pitable valley 1 have ever seen; not a blade of
gMM) nor moss, not a shrub, tree, nor even a mor-
sel of drift-wood, to be seen, but one tremendous
slate mountain valley. We encamped on the
banks of the stream, faring upon our frozen horse-
flesh and a little biscuit ; our stock of spirits was
all consumed, and I longed to reach some habita-
tion. My poor Cossack now grew worse, having
been three days without food, and so weak] that
it was necessary to lash him to the horse. The

7 2

270 BOULOUKTAK.

guide was almost blind, being unable even to bring
the horses in from the pasture. I was thus com-
pelled to perform the functions of ostler, wood-
cutter, guide, doctor, cook, and traveller ; regret-
ting only the necessity that compelled me so to act,
for otherwise I took so little heed of it, that I slept
the sounder.

Leaving this desolate valley, our route lay over
a few rugged hills, by a path which seemed to
point itself out as the proper route. We soon en-
tered upon the river Koulgall, and the romantic
valley of Boulouktak, named from the lake, stream,
and fish produced from it, the second of which en-
ters the narrow defile in the elevated southern
ranges. The prospect is most beautiful ; tolerable
sized wood occupies the fore-ground, with a small
hill, which I ascended, to obtain a better view of
the magnificent panorama. To describe it would
require a far more able pen or pencil than mine.
The southern range appeared much indented, and
seemed to cast a shade over their otherwise milky
appearance. Two yourtes on the borders of a lake
were on the left, while, from the right, the river
winded over the plain. The whole view occupied
from south-west to east, and from west to north-
east, so that the valley runs from east-north-east to
west-south-west. The breadth of it is about
twenty miles. I remained at a miserable yourte
five days, to see what I could do in restoring the
Cossack, but in vain, and departed with a Yakut,
six feet high, and stout in proportion, the largest I
have ever seen. He was, however, a mere brute,
not knowing a word of the Russian language, a
great glutton, stupid, obstinate, and immovably
lazy.

It was with great reluctance I commenced the

TERACHTACK, ETC. RIVERS. 271

road with him, but there was no alternative, he
being the only person who knew any thing- of the
route towards the Omekon. At about fifteen
miles, having passed three small lakes, we reached
the base of the southern range of hills. We as-
cended them against wind and snow, and night
closed in upon us as we had reached thirty miles,
in the bosom of the mountains. It was impossible
to keep in a fire from the driving of the snow ; I
therefore managed as well as I could, while my
half-savage gigantic companion comforted himself
with at least twenty pounds of frozen horse-meat.
Next day I crossed with my companion the
Kourouack mountains, at the base of which runs
the little rapid river of this name, which we passed
with difficulty, as it was giving way very fast to
the warmth of the sun, the thermometer standing
at 27° of Reaumur. The mountains now exhibit
a constant and uniform succession of equilateral
triangles, or pyramids, of stone slate, with layers
of the same yellow earth, called stone-butter,
which I have before noticed as being eaten by the
aborigines. The next river was the Terachtack
and Outachan-Taroun Oract, or large icy river, as it
signifies in the Yakut dialect. Our route proved diffi-
cult, now over overflowed meadows and large rivers,
or elevated mountains, well-wooded with larches,
alder, and some pine. On the fifth day we ascend-
ed a stupendous path, which overlooks not only the
surrounding country but also the other mountains ;
it is almost a bare rock, and was so slippery that
the horses got very severe falls in the ascent, roll-
ing back in one moment as much as it had taken
ten minutes labour to achieve. I almost despaired
of gaining the summit, but we at length succeeded,
and then the horses actually slid down the opposite

272 NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE

precipice of one hundred feet high, the rock being
covered with frozen snow. For myself I considered
it, as it really was, an ice mountain, and, desiring
the guide to follow, passed down without any ac-
cident. I was now indeed in a desperate dilemma ;
but Providence, which ever watches the wants of
all creatures, sent to my assistance the sick Cos-
sack, who, having got better, and being without
baggage, had followed our track with a couple of
horses. He came in time also to tell us that we
had mistaken the route. His duty pointing out
the necessity of seeing me safe to Okotsk, I did
not feel so thankful as I else should, because I sus-
pected that most of his illness was pretended, and
that conscience had told him he was acting wrong,
or he might not have returned, having already re-
ceived permission from me to proceed to the Ko-
lyma.

We passed the night in a dreary situation, with-
out any fire. My tea and bread were both con-
sumed ; nothing in short remained but horse-flesh,
which I found very good. The Cossack had
brought a few birds, but as I knew that such dain-
ties were all he could, or would, eat, of course I
gave them up to him. Next day we considered
how to ascend the mountain ; the snow was solid
and slippery, and there appeared no other mode
than the one which we adopted — creeping up the
side, and chopping the surface with a hatchet, at
frequent intervals, to obtain some sort of footing.
In this manner I and the Cossack ascended, and
making all the leather thongs fast together, we
hauled up the baggage and let it down on the op-
posite side ; thus placing ourselves between it and
the horses. To get up the latter required more
management ; for, accustomed as the horses are to

TEUACHTACK, ETC. RIVERS. 273

the most laborious and dangerous journeys, and
with all their sagacity and tameness, I found they
could not ascend above half the mountain, the fa-
tigue was too great ; in short they were compelled
to give it up, and recoil once more to the base in
a state of perfect agony. Thus passed the day !
Our situation now seemed desperate ; the horses had
received no food for two days, with more than or-
dinary hard work, during which we had enjoyed no
fire ; yet still " neboice avoce lebo" (fear not — per-
haps) were the rallying words, and these alone
served us for supper. Our monster of a guide was
quite insensible to our situation, and sat grumbling
that he had not more than twenty pounds of meat
a-day, with such hard work.

This night was passed even more miserably than
the last, as we had not even the benefit of our bed-
ding or clothing, both of which had been hurled
down the opposite valley, without respect to whom
they belonged. We rose, the third morning, pre-
pared for hard work ; and our first attempt was to
haul the horses up the precipice. We in part suc-
ceeded, as the strongest were actually received, and
cast adrift on the opposite side to feed. This occu-
pied us all day, and the third night was passed with
the cheering hopes of resuming our journey the fol-
lowing day ; but these were frustrated, as it was not
until late in the evening that we succeeded in pass-
ing all the horses we designed to keep ; one we were
obliged to kill and carry with us as food. Our
bully-headed Yakut too became wonderfully alert
on this occasion, knowing he should receive an ex-
tra allowance of meat, were it for no other reason
than to lighten the other brutes. I, however, de-
termined to make some reserve, and accordingly
taking a quantity of the slaughtered animal, suffix

274 TERACHTACK,

cient to serve the Yakut on his return, I buried it
in the snow, which I thought would continue un-
melted for ten or twelve days, and marked the place
with a cross. This precaution I considered was
more than ordinarily necessary with my gigantic
companion, who had infinitely less concern towards
the prevention of future starvation, than to the sup-
port of present gluttony.

The only mode of passing the last three horses
was by making a regular staircase up the hill, by
means of axes, and strewing it with earth ; myself
and the Cossack, who were on the hill, holding a
rope attached to the horse's head, while the guide
behind, whose task it was to flog the beast, had no
sinecure, as, from his immoderate size, he was al-
most himself incapable of moving. The result of
the last five days was that we had lost five days'
travelling, five days of the best season, and five days
which were worth fifty of those which followed ;
the fault was not mine ! The weather was still
very cold, and I felt some relief in getting close to
a cheerful fire. Next day I directed my course by
a compass, for the guide knew nothing, about west-
fiouth-west, intending, if possible, to gain the river
Indigirka. We crossed many hills, deep in snow,
and left two horses dead, a circumstance which
seemed to please the guide, whom I was conse-
quently obliged to declare under martial law ; be-
ing confident that he cared not if I and the Cossack
perished. I was now compelled to put the little
baggage we had left upon the spare horses, and we
all continued the journey on foot, encamping for
the night on the banks of the Kourdak, which we
traversed the next day with tolerable ease, being
clear of snow, with a fresh breeze right-aft. In
the evening it turned to rain, the first real shower

KOURDAK ETC. RIVERS. 275

since September, as we halted on the banks of the
same stream, hairing walked about fifteen miles.
We passed the night in a sort of growling way, and
renewed our journey towards the Terachtack over
a pleasant, pasture, and well-wooded country.

All the rivers which I had lately passed run
into the Indigirka, and, although small, are rapid
streams. My guide was now so negligent and
useless, that I was compelled to desire the Cossack
to flog him with his own whip, in a manner which,
in England, would justly have been considered se-
vere ; but I am satisfied the necessity and danger
of our situation justified the measure, for the fellow
was really deceiving us, to say nothing of the risk,
which was very great, unprovided as we were with
nets or fire-arms. Leaving another horse to abide
his fate, we continued on, dividing the extra bag-
gage between us. We crossed the Ambardach and
Chousgindrach, adding another walk to the fatigue
we had undergone ; and, being still eighty miles
from the nearest habitation, we rested at a rich
pasture two days for the sake of the horses, and
on the third reached the rivers Andigizan, Intach,
and Omekon. The country had now become gra-
dually very agreeable and open, and the weather
was very fine. Great quantities of game, as geese,
ducks, partridges, and woodcocks, hovered over
OUT heads, and we saw numerous traces of quadru-
peds ; as bears, wolves, foxes, rein- deer, and hares,
with sometimes that of an elk. The last day of
this journey, tlirough an extra effort, induced by
the hop** of success, we reached the first habitation
of the Omekon district ; walking and swimming
that day near thirty miles : I say swimming, for
we were frequently obliged to wade across the
rivers, and to swim over many yards of rapid

276 RIVERS.

stream, which I accomplished for myself by means
of a rope fastened to a horse's neck. I reached, all
well, the Bolouvanach, and then the more consider-
able Nera, all rivers which unite with the Indigirka.
I was received at a yourte, the most pleasant and
hospitable, as I then thought, I had ever seen,
where I procured two fresh horses to carry the
baggage, and continued the route on foot, leading
all the other horses, now reduced to five.

My overgrown guide was of course discharged.
I could not even remain a moment to refresh, as
the rivers were breaking up, and threatening to in-
sulate me for some months from the rest of the
world. The Omekon river was still distant one
hundred and fifty miles, and I had scanty means
of reaching it under four days, even supposing as-
sistance given ; but I pressed on, gratified to catch
now and then in the distant horizon the sight of
smoke, which I had not seen during the last journey
of more than three hunched miles. Not one indi-
vidual, stationary or wandering, had I met from the
lake Boulouktak; but now we were, as may be
termed, risen from the dead, renewed with fresh
courage, and my Cossack particularly inspirited
with a regale of beef which had been given him at
the first yourte. For myself, I preferred to par-
take of the old horse-meat I had still left ; having
a mind to shame the Cossack, and show him that
he ought to eat any thing when necessity dictated.
I had passed twelve days without any other food
than the horse-meat we had brought, generally
eaten in a raw state, and a small part of the animal
we had killed ; yet I was never in better health. In
this state I reached the hospitable abode of the
Prince Nicolai. Our journey had lain on the rivers
Nera and Indigirka, the country sterile and dreary*

OMEKON. 277

and as desolate as Zashiversk, lower down the lat-
ter river. The second day I again halted at the
abode of a Yakut knez (prince), who presented me
with half a rein-deer, and treated me with milk and
tea, making me, as I thought, the happiest of men :
such is the effect produced by present comforts and
enjoyments upon past hardships.

Independent of the provisions given to me, I was
obliged to receive two red foxes, as a tribute. They
were presented to me by the hands of a tolerably
good-looking Yakut girl, whose father, with two
other princes, formed a part of my train to the
abode of the prince of the Omekon, where we ar-r
rived the following day ; and I cannot help assert-
ing, that I never saw a race of people more worthy
of this honorary distinction ; they certainly com-
bined in their own breasts humanity, justice, and
common sense.

The latter part of the journey changed for the
better ; from nigged and sterile hills and marshy
swamps, to beautiful rising and well-wooded emi-
nences and fertile meadow lands ; from perfect de-
solation to comparative populousness. The first
sight of so many smoking chimneys gladdened my
heart in an unusual degree. I felt the value of life,
and never enjoyed it more than in the hospitable
yourte of Peter Gotossop, the Yakut prince of the
Omekon. He had come thirty miles, in conse-
quence of an express, to meet me. I need not say
how much I enjoyed a bed of rein-deer skins in his
yourte, after lodging fifteen days, without intermis-
sion, in the snow ; at times actually immersed in
water, which proceeded either from the melting of
the snow, the fall of the dew, or the warmth of our
own bodies upon a half-frozen surface of snow.

The valley of Omekon is indeed a romantic and

vol. i. 2 a

278 THE VALLEY OF

Fertile spot. About five hundred individuals are
reckoned within its principality, who are scattered
about, Wandering with the numerous drove*. o\
cattle, as the season and height of the river will
permit or compel. The woods are very fine and
large, consisting of birch, pine, larch, and cedar,
the last producing a highly flavoured, though small,
nut. which is exported to Okotsk and Kamtchatka.
The quantity of cattle in the valley is prodigi-
ous, no less than three thousand mares, and near
two thousand cows, the property of the few rich
Yakuti. The consumption of them is, however,
not small, especially of horses, owing to the great
demand made by the government, in forced levies.
for Okotsk and the more northern districts. But
so fond are the Yakuti of their horses, that, to
avoid selling them, and sending them upon such a
service, they drive a couple of young bullocks, as
an exchange for a horse, to the first place, or will
present another person with a young bullock for
each horse that is supplied him to carry on the ex-
tra service. The duty thus performed by them is
undertaken purely for gluttony. The substitute
instantly makes a feast of the young bullock, and
trusts to the strength of his horse to make good
the duty imposed upon it ; yet, strange to say, it
is seldom that a respectable Yakut will either ride
himself, or suffer others to ride, much less will he
load, a good horse ; indeed, they are kept rather
for show, or for breed, than for use ; thus the duty
falls upon the poor ones. In the event of a horse fall-
ing on the road, the Yakut is of course obliged to
buy or get another as he can. Sometimes he will
exchange in time, by giving three for two, and five
for two, according to the state they are in : gene-
rally, however, he will kill them, and employ other

OMEKON. 219

people to perform the latter part of the journey,
giving or promising a dead horse or two in pay-
ment, and himself returning on foot.

I remained three days at the Omekon, and was
again obliged to leave my Cossack, from ill health
and fatigue. Having procured in his stead a young
lad, born in the valley of Omekon, with him, and
four of the native princes in my train, I departed
along the banks of the river, running along one of
the most picturesque and finest valleys in the uni-
verse, yielding the best grass in the province, and
abounding with animals of the chase. Having
reached thirty miles, we put up at the yourte of a
wealthy knez. In the passage of the river eacli
horse was attended by four men, owing to the ve-
locity of the stream ; the men resisting it by means
of stout poles thrust into the bed of the river on
their leeward side. The passage was certainly
dangerous, but necessary to be accomplished with-
out delay, before the melting of the snow on the
lofty and magnificent mountains all around render-
ed the river terrific and impassable. The Omekon
uniting with the Indigirka not far from hence, con-
stitutes the latter for a season a first-rate river in
Siberia. Already the meadow lands on each side
of the river represent innumerable lakes, which are
swum over by the horses with much difficulty. At
eighty miles we exchanged horses ; here I had a
difference with the Cossack and guide, as to which
horse I should ride, both insisting on the one pro-
posed to me being the most proper. As I did not
like his appearance, I said I was not accustomed
to take the best in their estimation, nor even in
my own ; therefore I would be content with that,
which was already saddled for the guide. The
latter said it was a vicious one, that it stumbled,

280 o.MEKON.

startled, and, indeed, had all sorts of defects. I
persisted, however; observing to the guide that I
was accustomed to those matters, and therefore
preferred giving him the best horse. My reason
for persisting in this paradoxical argument is, that
I know few people will ever recommend that which
they consider as the best horse ; they will rather re-
tain it for themselves : certainly I have never been
deceived when riding a horse which was intended
for guide or Cossack.

Recourse was at length had to frighten me out
of my determination to attempt the journey to
Okotsk at such a season of the year. The princes
proposed that I should remain with them three or
four weeks, when the rivers would subside, and
the journey would then be even agreeable. All,
however, that they could get from me, was to go
with horses one hundred miles farther, and then
take rein-deer. Their excellent and clean yourtes,
the hospitality of the people, the productions of the
country, the quantity of partridges, ducks, geese,
plovers, and fine beef, presented to me, the rich-
ness of the cream, and refreshing flavour of the
wild bemes ; above all, the romantic scenery which
abounds, and the happiness which reigns, in the
valley of Omekon, might, indeed, have proved
strong allurements with me to pass my life with
them, but held not out sufficient charms to induce
me to avoid a difficult journey. The weather was
now very fine, but the nights and mornings were
still cold. The princes continued to accompany
me through their magnificent retirement, which is
near five hundred miles from any other establish-
ment, Okotsk and Boulouktak being the nearest.
I had a long conversation with the prince about
yasack, a tribute peculiar to Siberia. He said that

OMEKON. 281

ihe quantity was nothing, but that the mode of
collecting it was a serious evil. The tribute they
would freely give to the Emperor, but it was what
the commissaries took from them by force, and
which they gave to avoid vexatious and litigious
t reatment, that was oppressive ; and these commis-
saries have great power.

Whether yasack is or is not an impolitic tax, re-
mains to be proved ; and whether a direct tax upon
certain articles consumed by the Yakuti, and all
aborigines, would not yield a greater revenue, may
be doubted: at all events, the present system is
liable to the greatest injustice and robbery. I have
no doubt that each commissary receives from the
district he governs, more furs for himself than for
the Emperor. The prince was not a little surprised
when I told him that, comparatively, he paid little
taxes, and that other countries paid more. Among
many taxes, I told him that, in England, he could
not shoot wild ducks without permission, and even
if he did shoot them in his own garden, he must
not take them up to eat. Finding him incredu-
lous, I then told him that he could not have more
than a certain number of windows to his house
without paying a tax. These two samples sufficed
to make him perfectly satisfied with his govern-
ment, till I informed him, on the other hand, that
no person in England could be compelled to carry
government, or private goods, without being paid
his own price. Every thing, however, which I
told him to prove the evident superiority of Eng-
land, as to the personal liberty of the subject, fail-
ed to weaken his natural preference of wandering
over his native soil, to the visiting of strange lands.
Thus we rode along the picturesque valley for
twenty miles, when we crossed numerous lakes,
■> \ 2

282 OMEKON.

which, from their local situation, were not as yet
melted. They are surrounded by opulent Yakuti
establishments, during the summer season, for the
fish which abounds in them.

We next crossed the mountains, and entered
upon another fine pasture country, watered by the
Torrourack ; and halted at the last yourte in the
government of Yakutsk. It was a miserable place,
although the kindness of its inhabitants procured
me a quantity of game. In its vicinity I passed
through a herd of rein-deer, attended by the wan-
dering Tongousi I was in search of. Their chief
was, however, forty miles distant, whither I re-
paired the next day, along a wide expanding val-
ley, opening to the south-east, and reached at sun-
set the encampment of Prince Shoumieloff. Ha-
ving previously sent a herald in advance, I was re-
ceived by him, with his sword by his side, his me-
dals suspended from the neck, and dressed in a
ricli suit of black velveteen, and a cocked hat. I
could not help laughing at the grotesque appear-
ance of the prince, while I pitied him, and despised
the means which had been used to divest so igno-
rant a man of his property, by the lure of honours
of this kind. I do not by these words mean to in-
timate that the necessity for such distinctions does
not exist ; but I do say, that the purposes for which
they are conferred on an ignorant savage are of the
most despicable nature. This man, Prince Shou-
mieloff, was formerly a rich Tongousian ; now he
is a poor one ; he had as many thousands of rein-
deer as he has now hundreds. But his free pre-
sents, added to extortions and exactions, to prevent
the chance of forced, although useless services,
have so reduced his property, that he is obliged to
eat fish, which is considered by the rein-deer Ton-
gousi as a hardship, and to send out his people to

OMEKON. 283

maintain themselves in the woods with their hows
and arrows. Powder is too dear, or not to be had,
but by a present to the chief of more than its equi-
valent ; he having the power to deny it altogether.
Shoumieloff now dreads going to Okotsk, even in
search of moss for his rein-deer, preferring, as he
says, to live a real Tongousian wanderer, than a
servile tributary to chiefs, commissaries, and other
officers, although he glories in paying what is just.

I found him an obliging sort of man, although
too free a use of liquor had made him at times a
quarrelsome one. We took a pipe and a glass of
vodka together, and, as he spoke the Russian lan-
guage, we descanted upon the means he had of
accommodating me with rein-deer as far as Okotsk.
He said, what was time, that he had only just left
the vicinity of that place in search of northern pas-
tures, and that although he might possibly be able
to reach Okotsk, he would still lose the benefit of
the pasturage ; as, by the time he could return,
winter would have commenced. I felt the force
of his reasoning, but the service was his in point
of law, as the season for employing or calling out
of horses had not yet commenced ; and therefore,
over a fresh glass of vodka, which had been given
to me, on the Omekon, by a retired Cossack, he
consented to take me.

In the neighbourhood there are eighty-seven of
his tribe under his command, over whom he holds
considerable power, as I have frequently witness-
ed ; but they are in general a hard-working people.
I was amused with their manner of catching rein-
deer, as it reminded me of the hunting of wild bul-
locks I had seen in Mexico ; with this difference
only, that there the man rides a horse fully train-
ed, and here a rein-deer. They use a long line, which

284. OMEKON.

is coiled up in their hands, as sailors handle a log
line, and galloping past the intended victim, fhey
with much dexterity throw the noose, at the end
of the line, over the horns. In America it is more
dangerous, and the horseman is sometimes obliged
to seek safety in flight, unless he can run the bul-
lock into a thick enclosure, where he becomes en-
tangled by the length of the line.

Next day I paid the prince a formal visit at hjs
principal tent. lie received me again in his gala
dress, presented me with tea, tobacco, and toasted
rein-deer meat, and lastly, with the raw marrow of
the fore legs ; the last I esteemed most, and, when
eaten in a frozen state, is, in my opinion, superior
to any other luxury of the kind, except raw fish.
He had purposely killed a rein-deer for me, and
sent me half ; I, of course, presented him with some
tobacco and powder, and, upon the demand of his
wife, with a bottle of spirits, in return for which
she gave me two red foxes.

On the third day we departed with fifty head of
rein-deer ; his whole herd consisting of about two
thousand : fifteen were put at my disposal, while
the rest were retained for his own consumption
and emergencies. The prince said, that, as none
of his people knew the summer mountain route,
he would accompany me. I took this as a good
omen of his kindness to me, and his desire to for-
ward me on my way ; the result will, however,
prove how far I was mistaken. At ten miles we
halted in a pleasant valley in a violent snow storm.
The Tongousi were not long before they pitched
their tent : but I preferred the open pure air, with
all the annoyance of the snow, to the harbour of
such a close place, and with such a filthy set ; J
will, however, do the prince the justice to say.

OMEKON. 285

that he begged I would take refuge in his tent, en-
larging upon its comforts, &c. We continued our
route thirty miles the next day ; the first half along
the valley, and the other over the hills leading to
the river Tourrourack, which we had crossed be-
fore. The third day the laden rein-deer began to
lag and droop ; the snow was very deep, and the
nasten, or the melted and re-frozen snow, was not
sufficient to bear the animals. A rein-deer cannot
carry above one hundred pounds upon his back,
but with that and good roads they may be able to
go thirty or forty miles : otherwise six or seven
miles a day, when heavily laden, is the average.
We shot a few partridges, for the Tongousi in ge-
neral have, guns, and secured one wild rein-deer,
which last was equally divided between his party
and mine. The wild rein-deer are generally con-
sidered as of those who formerly belonged to them,
but had strayed away. By some little trickery
they are decoyed into their camps ; otherwise wild
and tame rein-deer have a natural aversion to one
another.

The fourth and fifth days we made but little pro-
gress, the weather was bad, and the rein-deer drop-
ping off, for we had already lost four by fatigue.
The prince grew angry, and threatened either to
leave me or carry me back ; to which, as on the
one hand I felt no way inclined to submit, I was
careful, on the other, not to compel him by pro-
voking or abusive conduct, well knowing the cha-
racter of the Tongousi. We reached an elevated
pass in the mountains, which leads to the vicinity
of Idgiga, but were unable to cross it, owing to the
state of the snow. The sixth day we renewed the
attempt upon the passage, but were again compell-
ed to give up, three laden rein-deer being dead,

286 OMEKON.

and the rest so weak as to be unable to convey
the carcasses or the baggage. The former was a
sad loss to the poor man, but I could only pity him.
We remained for three days to recruit the rein-
deer, and then determined again to make for the
Omekon, and attempt the long passage with horses.
The reasons which influenced us to turn back ap-
peared to me sufficiently strong ; and as the prince
complained that he had not force sufficient to take
my baggage, I was obliged to destroy the greater
part. The moment Mr Shoumieloff saw what I
was about, he remonstrated upon the crime ; ask-
ing why I did not give the things to him, as lie
could take them away for himself, although he
would not for me. I said, I would make him a
present of nearly all the baggage I had, if he would
show me the way to Okotsk by the 20th of May.
He declined, and I persisted in burning my clo-
thing and bedding, for I felt convinced he had been
duping me, compelling me, as he thought, to for-
sake my baggage, that he might reap the benefit ;
nor was the destruction of my wardrobe of little
import, rigged out as 1 had been by Baron Wran-
gel and the generous inhabitants of the Kolyma.
Finding I was not to be outwitted nor dissuaded,
he brought forward the image of the virgin and the
saint he was named after, saying that I must be a
heretic, and no priest of any country — he spit,
swore, stamped, and crossed himself like a madman.
I merely laughed at him, and although I should
have had a laborious task to retrace my steps alone
to the Omekon, I was determined to run the risk,
and complete the desolation by burning every thing
I had which he would not carry, and which was
not actually necessary to the season of the year.
At length he told me it had been previously ar-

OMEKON. 287

ratiged that I should return to the Omekon ; and
there in fact I re-arrived on the eighteenth day, re-
crossing the Tourrourack and Boulabot rivers with
much difficulty. The country over which I had
lately wandered was barren, but presented some
tine scenery ; numerous lakes are seen, and the
wood is thick and tall. It is a favourite resort of
the Tongousi, where they get fine moss for the
deer, good fishing, and plenty of squirrels and
foxes ; the latter alone serving to pay the yasack,
as well as to purchase the few articles of necessity
and luxury which they require, at the annual fair,
held at Okotsk, in the month of June or July, ac-
cording to the season.

Upon leaving the Prince Shoumieloff, I purcha-
sed a fine rein-deer of him for the last of my to-
bacco which I had bought at the Omekon. The
deer might weigh about one hundred and fifty
pounds, which I thought a sufficient quantity of
meat to enable me to reach Okotsk. The Ton-
gousian again wished to steal a march upon me,
insisting that he had not sold me the skin, but the
meat. As I had no bed, I was not disposed to be
so easily outwitted, and therefore replied, that I
was not obliged to kill the rein-deer until I thought
proper ; but that when I did he should have the
skin, provided he would accompany me for that
purpose. Poor Shoumieloff felt much annoyed at
being thus matched, especially as the knife was
ready to sacrifice the poor animal, from which I,
however, designed to secure myself a bed.

Fresh horses having been procured for me, I left
for ever the Omekon ; receiving from my old friend
Gotossop a quarter of a young bullock, and a dead
horse for the use of the Yakuti ; besides a pood
and a half, or sixty pounds, of rye flour, and at

2S8 OMEKON.

least ten poods, or four hundred pounds, of butter
and sour milk. The first day we halted at ten
miles, on the banks of the Koudousou, at present
a large and rapid river full of floating ice, which
rendered the passage of it on the following day
highly dangerous, though we had a small canoe,
which served to tow a horse over each time ; as it
was, the poor animals suffered much. On reach-
ing the other side, my medical skill was called into
requisition. I had got the credit of curing asthma,
palsy, sore eyes, and the like, and as this was done
gratis I got many patients. Had I possessed a
medical book I might probably have done some
good.

From the Koudousou the country was quite
overflowed for twenty miles, exhibiting numerous
habitations perfectly insulated; indeed, many of
the people do ply about in canoes, keeping them
for this case of emergency. My next route was
on the right bank of the Kourounaksouta, which,
like the other rivers in this valley, unites with the
Omekon. In the evening I had prepared for my
supper what is termed salamatt, a mixture which
I found very palatable. It is rye flour boiled in
butter, and reduced in thickness, when boiling, to
a substance like burgoo, or hasty pudding, not un-
like what I had eaten when going down the Volga.
The two following days we got on very well, ma-
king near sixty miles over low marshy swamps ;
a brace of ducks were shot, and we passed the
evening comfortably.

Having re-crossed the Koudousou, we reached
the Konkuy, also uniting with the Omekon, where
a chain of mountains commence, running to the
south-east and south-west. Our horses began now
to suffer from want of food, as the pastures are
7

OMEKON. 280

better suited for rein-deer. There are hence, from
the Konkuy, two roads to Okotsk, one by the
west, the other by the east, bank of the Okota ;
the former requires seven, the latter ten days to
reach, without casualties. The former is over a
level but continual swamp, the latter over high and
rugged stony mountains. I preferred the former,
though with the chance of being detained from the
rapidity of the river or the quantity of loose ice,
being willing to assist the horses of the poor Ya-
kuti, as the mountain route affords but bad pas-
ture and a worse road.

We made thirty miles along a valley, bounded
by high peaked mountains. In a romantic spot,
and near a rapid of the Koudousou, which makes
much noise, I observed a neat tomb, with a cross
over it, to the memory of a Lamut, or Tongousian
prince, who had died here a few years ago, while
wandering with his rein-deer.

We were now much annoyed with a consider-
able fall of rain, and passed a bad night in conse-
quence. Next day there was every appearance of
the rain continuing, and I reduced the allowance
of meat one-half, not knowing how long we might
be detained. A hurricane coming on, we were
obliged to halt, and were most unpleasantly off in
our wet leather clothes. As soon as possible, how-
ever, we resumed our journey along an elevated
valley, where the snow was soft and dangerously
deep, presenting nothing for a fire or for the sup-
port of the horses, nor a shrub of any description
to be seen. I have scarcely ever seen a place where
the horses could not, by scraping with their feet,
reach the earth in search of food ; here, however,
the thing was impossible from the depth of the
snow ; and indeed the poor animals seemed to

vol. I. 2 b 9

290 OMEKON.

know it, as they would not waste their strength in
the attempt. The Yakuti put on long faces at the
obstructions we met with, never having witnessed
euch deep and difficult roads, for, in ordinary times,
good pasturage is to be had in this part of the val-
ley.

The horses having to contend with such difficul-
ties, our journey was continued on foot. My snow-
shoes I gave up to one of the guides, in considera-
tion of his being very heavy, while, for myself,
with a quick motion, my weight was not sufficient
to permit my sinking in the snow; — in case I had,
the guide with snow-shoes was near to render me
assistance. We were now frequently compelled
to wander about on the borders of precipices, di-
recting our route by the shade or appearance of
the snow ; habit having accustomed me, as well as
the people of the country, to a pretty accurate cal-
culation whether or not the snow would bear me.
I have even seen the horses refuse to proceed, their
sagacity in that case being equal to man's ; nor will
the leading dog of a narte, if h& is good, run the
vehicle into a track where there is deep snow or
water.

The third terrible day brought us to a solitary
tree, from which many horsehair offerings were
suspended. Having overcome this abominable
route, no less than sixty miles, in the evening we
reached a fertile spot, and halted on the banks of
a lake, from which, it is said, the rivers Okota and
Koudousou, running in counter directions, have
their source ; a circumstance which recalled to my
recollection those words in an able work by Mr
Barrow upon rivers, where it is said, that " al-
though it is not a physical impossibility that two
rivers should flow in opposite, or indeed in any

OMEKON. 291

direction, out of the same lake, yet the contrary
approaches so near to an axiom in geography, that
no instance is perhaps known of such an occur-
rence ;" nor is it unworthy of remark, that, while
I was writing this, I read in the Literary Gazette
of a similar circumstance having been reported by
the Esquimaux ; indeed, from charts which I have
since seen of that part of the world, I have no doubt
of the fact. Query, do not several rivers emanate
from the Baikhal and Caspian Seas, or Lakes ?

We had now only one day's meat left, but were
fortunate in shooting a couple of partridges, which
the guides brought me. We had still some rye
flour and butter, and with that hoped to cross the
river and reach our destination, without any sub-
sequent difficulty. At four in the morning we had
13° of frost by Reaumur, and at noon 73° of heat
of Fahrenheit. After forty miles of severe travel-
ling, we at length reached the river which was to
close this terrible journey, and which was full of
shoals and rapids, and may be declared useless.
The islands in it abound with birches, larches, and
alders, as also with the poplar, and a few pines.
There is also an abundance of wild berries of a fine
flavour ; and the pastures are exceedingly rich.
The scenery was, in many places, highly beautiful ;
and the river afforded a novel spectacle, being con-
fined by the most beautiful natural quays of crys-
tal ice, while the river actually roared from the ve-
locity of its current.

As we continued our melancholy route, we fell
in with two white bears bound to the north, but
fear, probably, on either side, kept us apart. Still
along the Okota, we reached twenty-five miles,
the horses enjoying very fine pastures, but our pro-
visions entirely at an end. The rains had again

292 THE OKOTA.

overtaken us, and were rapidly swelling the rivers.
Of the last of the rein-deer, the flesh was so far
gone that I could not eat it ; the Yakuti, however,
are so fond of putrid meat, termed in England
game, for indeed it was nothing else, that they
finished it, regretting only that it was so little in
quantity. The second day without food, and in a
torrent of rain, we made near fifty miles, the horses
swimming and wading through thirty or forty lit-
tle rapid streams. These are formed by the rains,
and the melting of the snow from the eastern range
of elevated mountains ; they subside and dry up
about the month of September. We lost one horse,
which was carried by the stream into the Okota.

At length, by great labour, we reached the ford-
ing place at the Okota. It was, however, impos-
sible to attempt it, the guides observing that the
horses might pass the river, but not loaded. We
therefore halted, and next morning found a place
where there was a canoe on the opposite bank.
Thereupon unloading the horses, we turned them
into the river, and they all reached the opposite
bank in safety. The question then was how to
get the canoe over ; I was the only person who
could swim, but the water was still so cold that I
felt no preference to that mode. Necessity at last
compelled me, and having procured a short stout
piece of drift wood, which was very buoyant, I
crossed at a narrow part of the stream, with a
leather thong fast to my waist. The rapidity of
the stream carried me down above a hundred yards,
but the Yakuti, keeping, by a sort of run, in a par-
allel line, were ready to haul me back, if neces-
sary. I, however, reached in safety ; and, instant-
ly throwing off my clothes, took violent exercise.
The breadth of the swimming part might only have

THE OKOTA. 293

been fifteen or twenty yards, and across the strength
of the stream possibly not more than four or five
yards ; yet I barely accomplished it. The feat
was thankfully acknowledged by the astonished
Yakuti when I returned with an excellent canoe.

Lord Byron swam the Hellespont, and John
Cochrane the Okota. Of the two feats, mine was
surely the most difficult ; his lordship was neither
fatigued, hungry, nor cold, nor compelled to his
undertaking ; while I had each and all of those
evils to contend with.

By perseverance we reached twenty miles far-
ther, halting at one of the fishermen's summer vil-
lages. I broke open all the cellars in search of
fish, but was not so fortunate as to find any. The
evening proving fine, we aired and dried our clothes
in lieu of supper, and next day, over a rugged but
well-wooded country, walked and rode twenty
miles, encamping upon the left bank of the Mo-
don ; one solitary partridge being the day's food
for four people. The Okota here becomes formi-
dable fronT the waters of the Nater and Modon,
which enter it from opposite points. The former
river inconvenienced us much, we being obliged to
ford it three times in the short space of seven miles,
and with no inconsiderable risk. After the pass-
age of the Nater, ascending an elevated and rugged
mountain, whence we enjoyed a fine view of the
surrounding country, we descended and entered
upon a swampy overflooded country, covered with
fallen trees which impeded our progress terribly.
A desolated forest was our companion for many
miles ; here and there we found a few berries,
especially of the moroshka (rubris chamaemorus),
a yellow berry, about the size of a strawberry ;
there were also some bilberries. We halted on
2 b 2

294 THE OKOTA.

an island where the remains of a post-house are
to be seen. It rained during the night, and we
had some heavy thunder, a sound become unusual
to me.

The next day, about one mile farther, we reach-
ed the junction of the Arka and Okota, but they
had swollen so much from the rains, that we were
again detained. I therefore went in search of game
with our Yakut's gun, but unhappily, the powder,
which had been kept in a rag, was so wet as to be
entirely useless ; we had, therefore, nothing but
patience left, independent of four fat horses, which
my finances would not allow me to sacrifice. The
poor Yakuti would willingly have allowed it, but
I could not think of permitting them, upon my ac-
count, to suffer so great a loss, and therefore de-
termined to let them act as for their own welfare,
knowing, as I did, that none of their nation would
deem it necessary to kill a good horse, till his
owner had been nine days without animal food.

The number of islands in the river increased to an
astonishing degree the velocity of the stream in the
channel, which brings down with it immense masses
of ice and trees ; and even had I been possessed
of a canoe, or had the river been more tranquil, it
appeared impossible for the horses to ascend the
quays on the opposite bank, which run into the
river in a shelving manner, eight or ten feet out of
the water. Now and then a mass of ice, or a tree,
would strike the quay, and tearing away the shel-
ving part, would leave a perpendicular spot of some
yards. I walked along the banks of the river in
search of a place to cross, but in vain ; we there-
fore began to fell timber, to be employed in the
formation of a raft if necessary. More rain came
in the evening, and we passed an unpleasant night,

THE OKOTA. 295

anxiously watching the rise or fall of the river.
We had eaten nothing for two days, and only a
few berries on the two preceding them. At noon
on the following day I had completed the raft, and
as I felt extremely hungry, determined to attempt
the passage of the river with one Yakut and the
Cossack. The other Yakut I left with the horses,
as he could not possibly perish for want of food,
and appeared only anxious for the necessity which
should compel him to knock one of the animals
upon the head, — that is, that the nine days should
expire. To starve on one side of the river, be
drowned in it, or die upon the other side, appeared
alike to me ; and I accordingly embarked our lit-
tle baggage upon the raft, composed of ten logs of
trees about fifteen feet long, crossed by five others,
and again crossed by two more, to form a seat for
the person taking charge of the baggage, which
was lashed to the raft. The spars were lashed to-
gether by leather thongs, and two or three leather
bags were cut up to increase their length. Each
spar was also connected to the one on each side
of it by three grummets, formed out of the green
branches of the trees on the banks of the river ;
and the raft appeared to me strong enough to re-
sist a severe concussion. We also provided our-
selves with drift spars, formed into oars, to serve
to steer, and assist in gaining the shore should an
accident happen. My papers and journals were
fastened round my body, and I took my station in
the bow, in order that J might avoid danger, and
keep in the centre of the river.

It was with difficulty we moved our vessel into
the main channel, from the number of eddies ; but
having once reached it, we descended in a most
astonishing manner, sometimes actually making the

296 THE OKOTA.

head giddy as we passed the branches of trees,
rocks, or islands. No accident happening, and the
river widening, I began to congratulate my com-
panions on the probability of breakfasting the next
day in Okotsk ; but as yet I had not got upon the
proper side of the stream, the islands and shoals
perpetually turning us off. The Cossack and Ya-
kut continued in a state of alarm, not entirely with-
out cause, for, upon rounding a point of land, we
observed a large tree jutting into the river, with
a tremendous and rapid surf running over it, the
branches of the tree preventing the raft from pass-
ing over the body of it, which was so deep in the
water as to preclude a hope of escaping with life,
— it was at least impossible to avoid being wreck-
ed. The Cossack and Yakut crossed themselves,
while I was quietly awaiting the result in the bow.
We struck, and such was the force of the rebound,
that I was in hopes we should have been thrown
outside the shaft in the subsequent approach. I
was, however, disappointed, for the forepart of the
raft was actually sucked under the tree, and the
afterpart rose so high out of the water, that it com-
pletely turned over, bringing the baggage under
water ; the whole then, with the Yakut and Coss-
ack, proceeded down the stream, and fortunately
brought up upon an island about one hundred yards
below. In the meanwhile my situation was dan-
gerous ; being in the bow, I could not hold on the
raft as my companions had been able to do, for fear
of being jammed in between the raft and the tree.
I therefore quitted my hold, and, with infinite dif-
ficulty, clung to the outer branches on the rapid
side of the tree ; my body was sucked under, and
no part of me was out of the water but my head
and arms. I could not long remain in such a state ;

THE OKOTA. 297

and making, therefore, one vigorous effort, on the
success of which it was clear my life depended, I
gained the top of the tree. I was throwing off my
upper park, when the branch gave way, and I
dropped down, half drowning, to the island. It
was a fortunate circumstance that the raft upset,
as otherwise it could not have brought up at the
island ; which it did in consequence of the baggage
lashed to the raft being so deep in the water.

Our situation, notwithstanding, upon the island,
was by no means pleasant. On either side of us
was a rapid channel, and I was as far as ever from
accomplishing the object I had in view, which was
that of getting upon the right bank of the river ;
for then I might expect to reach some habitation,
there being none upon the left bank nearer than
six hundred miles, half way to Idgiga. My first
care was to change my wet clothes, and warm my-
self by exercise ; the next was to unlash and land
the baggage, and to save as much of the raft as
possible, our deliverance depending upon it. By
hard work we accomplished it ere the sun had set ;
after which it soon began to be very cold. The
appearance of the night was unfavourable, as it
foreboded rain ; it would therefore have been high-
ly indiscreet to remain longer than necessary, as
the river might, in one night, so increase as to cover
the island.

To launch a raft into the channel I could not
attempt, as by that time it would be dark, and we
should certainly meet with the same accident, and
probably worse results. I therefore walked towards
the end of the island, till I came opposite to a large
tree which had fallen from the continent nearly half
way across the narrowest part of the channel, which
might be about fifty or sixty feet. To swim through

298 THE OKOTA.

the central part of it was impossible ; but it ap-
peared to me probable, with the help of nautical
ingenuity, to save not only ourselves, but also the
baggage ; and this I accomplished in a true sailor-
like fashion.

The baggage and spars were first removed from
the place of wreck to that we purposed departing
from. These spars were, as I have said, about
fifteen feet long, a length which would not more than
one-third reach to the tree, allowing a proportion to
be within the beach. I therefore placed the heaviest
baggage in the water, consisting of four bags lashed
together, to which I lashed the inner ends of two
of the stoutest spars, keeping a line fast to the outer
ends, to prevent the strength of the stream from
carrying them down. I should say, that the place
where I sunk the baggage was past the parallel of
the tree, to which I desired to get, five or six feet,
in order that the last of the studding sail booms
which I should rig out might come on the rapid
side of the tree, and thus form a bridge. I then
carried out two more spars, and lashed their centres
to the outer ends of the two first spars, while the
inner ends were lashed to the centre of the two
inner spars ; the second two spars had also a guy
fastened to their outer ends, as a support. I had
now reached within eight or nine feet of the tree,
a space including the most rapid part of the stream.
I accordingly sent one more spar, dropping it be-
tween the others in such a manner that it should
fall tides-way of, and two or three feet beyond, the
nearest part of the tree. Of course it required no
guy, and but one inner lashing, as it could not get
adrift or fall to leeward, unless the tree gave way.
My reason for sending one spar at last, was to pre-
vent, as much as possible, an extra surf ; for, as it

NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE OKOTA. 299

was, I had great difficulty in reaching the tree. The
Cossack followed in safety ; but of course I could
not expect the Yakut to attempt it ; the bare idea
was death to him. I therefore returned, and ma-
king another long line out of leather strips from two
bags, I flung it over to the Cossack, keeping one
end fast to the island. My bridge thus appeared

To enable me to ferry over my Yakut, the bag-
gage, and lastly, myself, I converted the bridge
into a raft, which had a line fast to it from each
side of the river, the Cossack hauling it to his side,
and I back again. When it came to my turn, I had
not the advantage of a check line, for there was no
place to make it fast to. The consequence was, in
rounding the tree, the raft upset, and I got a severe
ducking. I held on, however, and was pulled ashore
in such a state, from the effects of the cold, that
my clothes became like a firm casing of ice. Not-
withstanding, I could not but be thankful for two
such escapes ; the last of which, I suppose, occur-
red at ten o'clock at night.

We immediately had recourse to flint and steel,

300 NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE OKOTA.

to produce fire, which was soon found to be im-
possible, as the tinder was all wet. A forest of fine
trees, most of them in a fit state to burn, inspirited
us, and my Yakut soon produced fire by friction.
From the danger of perishing by cold, I was now
hurried into that of being consumed by fire. The
height of the grass and the dryness of the wood all
around, were such, that the whole forest was en-
veloped in flames, and we were obliged to work
hard to prevent its being fatal to us.

This immense fire raging round us, had the ef-
fect of inducing the other guide to swim the horses
across the river to our relief, either supposing we
were there, or that other assistance to himself
was at hand : a service which must have been per-
formed with no small difficulty or peril. For the
sake of the Yakuti, it was a happy accomplishment ;
as, from the general want of food, and the distance
to their home, it was impossible for them to have
returned without a fresh supply. Now, upon the
right bank of the river Okota, we were certain of
assistance in twenty-four hours. The distance we
had arrived, by the winding of the river, was fifteen
or sixteen miles ; but in a direct line to the junc-
tion of the Arka and Okota, not more than three
miles ; so that the fire was readily distinguished by
the Yakut I had left with the horses. I therefore
felt delighted with his good conduct in having so
well divined our situation ; and the night was passed
in drying our clothes, and preparing to resume the
journey the following day. The appearance of
the raft, upon the second trip, was thus :

OKOTSK.

Continent * Cossack

301

The third day without any food had now passed ;
and the fifth, with only a few berries to keep our
spirits up, had arrived, when, on the dawn of the
sixth (18th June), we again took to the horses,
forded the Rounar, and passing over a mountainous
and steril country, for near forty miles, arrived at
the habitation of a Yakut prince, called Gregory
Grosmoff, upon an island in the Okota. My host
was neither civil nor hospitable ; but by a sort of
force I got some horse-meat from him, and which
I considered, at that time, a great delicacy, added
to some bread which I procured from the sailors
and carpenters employed in felling timber for the
dock-yard of Okotsk.

Fresh horses were given to me at this station,
and I proceeded on to Okotsk. The route lay
through some fine park-like scenery, and then over
a thick sandy forest of tall pine-trees ; the weather
was most unfavourable, as it rained hard. At length
I reached the eastern sea-coast, that is, the North
Pacific Ocean, and was compelled to halt at a mi-
serable hut, affording scarcely a shelter from the
elements. The following morning, to assist the
Yakuti, who begged of me to leave their horses in
the pasture, I paddled along the stream to the old

vol. i. 2 c

302 OKOTSK.

town of Okotsk ; and calling on the police-master,
was by him, in the government boat, carried over,
with all the formality and respect due to my rank,
to the abode of the chief of Okotsk, Vladimir
Ushinsky, than whom I have never found a better
man, or one who possesses more real goodness of
heart under the most severe and forbidding counte-
nance.

I was provided with quarters at the abode of the
police-master, whose brother had that day been
drowned in floating a raft down the Okota, not far
from where I was wrecked. I waited upon the
chief of Okotsk as soon as I could put on a clean
dress, afforded me through the kindness of a Mr
Gardner, a Bostonian, settled in Okotsk as an agent
or retail trader. The chief felt much surprised at
my haggard and miserable appearance. My face
was completely frosted, and bore the effects of ex-
posure to the wind in no ordinary degree. My
long red beard, longer red locks, and almost fright-
ful aspect, now suggested to me the propriety of
shaving myself as well as of getting my hair cut,
neither of which I had permitted for fifteen months.
To this measure, however, I did not consent, till I
had determined, in consequence of the information
I received, and the general circumstances attend-
ing my situation, to return to Europe. I did, how-
ever, shave in the forenoon, and had my hair also
cut ; and receiving as a present a surtout and pair
of blue trowsers, I became once more a genteel
dressed man.

Through the hospitality and kindness of Captain
Ushinsky, I was enabled to pass a most pleasant day
in the agreeable company of the officers both of the
naval and civil service of Okotsk. The chief had
long been expecting me, and continued so to ex-

5

OKOTSK. 303

pect, until he heard of my departure from Yakutsk
for the Kolyma ; when, to use his own expression,
" he gave me up for lost." I do, however, say that
whatever are his, and may be others', opinions,
I feel certain, that one half the difficulties, and
nearly all the dangers and exposures, to which tra-
vellers, in any climate, are most commonly sub-
jected, and of which they so much complain, are
the result of either their own physical incompe-
tency? or want of prudential foresight. I certain-
ly do not understand making much ado about no-
thing, nor writing expensive quartos upon a subject
which might be compressed into a duodecimo, so
far as regards the value of the information ; but
this I do understand, that were a similar, and ap-
parently a difficult journey, left open for me to per-
form, which could in the least tend to the benefit
of mankind, and, in the event of success, to my own
advantage, I would no more think of refusing to
undertake such a journey, than I would that of ex-
ploring Africa to-morrow ; for which purpose, and
with slender means, I am ready in six hours. I
did utter these sentiments at Okotsk ; I have now
again uttered them in England, conscious that my
plan is economical, prudential, and feasible.

304 REASONS FOR DETERMINING

CHAPTER IX.

Reasons for determining to return to Europe — Description of
Okotsk — Observations on the navigation of the Amour—
Kurile Islands— St Peter and St Paul's — Captains Vasi-
lieff'sand Kotzebue's Expeditions.

The circumstances which induced me to deter-
mine upon a return to Europe, previously visiting
Kamtchatka, I will beg to lay before my readers,
in the words of part of a letter I addressed to the
same purport, to the govern or- general of Siberia.
It is as follows :

" Okotsk, July 8, 1821.
" MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

" From the river Kolyma I had last the honour
of addressing your excellency ; since when I have
come over a large tract of desolate country, nearly
two thousand miles, with great labour and some
peril. The difficulties I have had to contend with
surpass every thing of the kind I have before seen,
and required every exertion of mine to conquer ;
which I did not do under seventy-five days of hard
labour. My route lay along the Kolyma, Zyzanka,
Indigirka, Omekon, and Okota ; all of which are,
at this season of the year, large, rapid, dangerous,
and almost impassable rivers. Besides these, there

TO RETURN TO EUROPE. 305

are numerous other streams, as well as lofty moun-
tains of frozen snow, large overflowed marshes,
crowded and decayed forests, and half-frozen lakes,
which present themselves in every part of this jour-
ney ; suffering at the same time cold, rain, hunger,
and fatigue, with forty-five nights' exposure to the
enow ; at times without fire in a frost of thirty de-
grees ; and, latterly, five days being passed with-
out food ; never having seen an individual du-
ring four hundred miles, and but one habitation in
the extent of one thousand ; being frequently be-
wildered and lost in the snow mountains ; — all these
circumstances tend to weary and dispirit a travel-
ler upon a like journey, and render him incapable
of addressing your excellency in a proper style.
But I am unwilling to allow a post to escape, with-
out communicating my past and future movements.

" I was induced to undertake the late journey,
in order that I might reach Okotsk in time to pro-
ceed to America or Kamtchatka, as circumstances
should render most desirable or necessary ; other-
wise the proper route from the Kolyma to Okotsk
is via Yakutsk, the route of the Omekon having
been discontinued thirty years, in consequence of
the difficulties and perils which ever attend it.

" I waited upon the chief of Okotsk, who recei-
ved me with distinguished hospitality and friend-
ship, and who informed me that there was no ves-
sel of any description lying in the port bound to
America ; and although two vessels were expected
to arrive in the course of the summer, it was by
no means certain, or probable, that either of them
would return to the opposite continent during the
same season. Such being the case, the chief of
Okotsk, agreeable to a request I made, has con-
sented to my embarking in the imperial transport,
2c2

306 REASONS FOR DETERMINING

bound to Kamtchatka : there I purpose passing the
remainder of the summer in travelling about the
peninsula, and propose to return to this place by-
way of Idgiga, during the early part of the winter,
and thence to Europe, where I hope to arrive in
the fall of the ensuing year, passing through such
places in Siberia as I could not visit upon my out-
ward journey.

" The circumstances which have arisen since my
last letter to your excellency, are such as to ren-
der useless my proceeding to America, even if a
conveyance offered ; but, as no opportunity does
exist, I must remain a long time in Okotsk if I
persist in my plan. Thus I hope that your excel-
lency and the imperial government will not feel
displeased with me, in consideration of the reasons
I have given for retracing my steps, in preference to
proceeding beyond the peninsula of Kamtchatka.

" Your excellency is well aware, that the object
I had in view, when I undertook this long and
painful journey, was first to ascertain the situation
of Shelatskoi Noss, then to cross from Asia to
America, at Behring's Straits, and trace the latter
continent as far as possible to the north-east.

" The first problem is entirely solved by the for-
tunate issue of Baron Wrangel's expedition. The
north-east boundary of Asia being thus established
beyond all doubt, I could no longer have any rea-
son for remaining in the vicinity of the Kolyma,
which place I accordingly quitted the moment the
fair held with the Tchuktchi upon the Aniuy was
finished.

" My original desire, or intention, of proceed-
ing to America, is now become as delicate as was
my situation on the Kolyma, as a naval expedition
is there also, having the same object in view that

TO RETURN TO EUROPE. 307

I have. I cannot be allowed to act with them, for
the reasons before assigned : I will not act against
them ; and, therefore, I cannot act at all. It would
be madness and presumption in me to attempt a
task of the kind while an expedition is there. I
cannot get to Behring's Straits but with their as-
sistance, or that of the Tchuktchi, and thus I can-
not get there at all, and can only wish for a suc-
cessful termination of Captain VassilieiFs exer-
tions. Should that officer withdraw entirely, I
will hereafter undertake the same journey, and
may possibly do that by good fortune, which even
more zeal and talents cannot execute !

" Had I known, when in Europe, of the expe-
ditions on the Kolyma and in Behring's Straits, I
do not think I should have taken this route to em-
ploy and improve myself. I shall, however, re-
member my journey with gratitude, pleasure, and
pride. I confess to your excellency, that I do not
see the necessity for continuing my journey merely
for the sake of consistency. I am not afraid of the
task, and I am as happy in a wild desert as in a
proud capital ; but I conceive I can better employ
myself, more improve myself, and possibly do bet-
ter altogether. I have much to see and learn du-
ring the ensuing fifteen months which I shall pass
in Siberia, and, therefore, I hope I am about to
adopt that line of conduct which, under all the
circumstances of the case, appears most proper,
however much I regret the necessity of retracing
my steps. I have the honour to be," &c.

Such were the ideas suggested to me, and such
was the conduct I felt it necessary to adopt, in
consequence of the conversation I had with the
chief of Okotsk, and the head of the American
Company, who told me that he had no idea of any

308 OKOTSK.

vessels offering this year for the opposite conti-
nent. No other vessel could offer, as the ports of
Okotsk and Kamtchatka had become shut to all
strangers since I had left St Petersburg, thus, in
fact, compelling me to adopt the most proper line
of conduct, as will hereafter appear, upon my arri-
val at Kamtchatka. I will therefore abstain from
touching any more upon that point until I reach
that peninsula, and content myself with viewing
the wonders of Okotsk.

Okotsk is situated in the north-east part of a
bay formed by the rivers Okota and Kouktui, and
is approaching to more respect and consideration
than it ever did before, owing, I believe, princi-
pally to the active and honest exertions of the pre-
sent chief. The town was formerly situated on a
low sandy beach close to the sea-side. Its expo-
sure and inconvenience were never pointed out till
by the late chief, now commanding at Yakutsk,
who was, in consequence, ordered to transfer the
town from the old to the new site, which is on the
left bank of the Okota, as the old one was on the
right. The order for the removal has been issued
several years, yet little was done till lately : even at
present the new site contains but the government
buildings, and those belonging to a few of the Cos-
sacks and sailors. The more considerable part,
which are erecting by the American Company,
will, it is said, be transferred hither in the ensuing
winter. The plan upon which the town is build-
ing is good, and, when finished, will be, after Bar-
naoule, the neatest place in Siberia, although upon
a small scale, for there are not more than fifteen
or sixteen hundred people in it. The country
round Okotsk is highly productive of fine timber,
in consequence of which a dock-yard has been

okoTSk. 309

made, and some fine vessels have been built, to
enable the government to transport provisions to
Idgiga and Kamtchatka.

The chief of Okotsk is generally a captain of
the navy of the second rank, and subject only to
the orders of the governor-general of Siberia, al-
though the governor of Irkutsk has some power in
civil cases. At present the establishment consists
of three captains and four lieutenants, with corre-
sponding officers of all classes, and nearly six hun^
dred seamen and artificers ; the allowance for main-
taining and paying whom is less than two thou-
sand pounds per annum, independent of their bread,
which is about eight thousand bushels. The peo-
ple are employed in building vessels and store-
houses, in rigging and sailing the former, and fill-
ing the latter with flour and stores. The receiving
and sending away of flour is a serious and labo-
rious duty, and open to much abuse and pilfering.
Besides these works there is a salt concern, under
the charge of an officer who commands the con^
victs, at present ninety in number, the maintenance
of whom, including provisions, clothing, and pock-
et-money, is about a thousand pounds per annum.
These extraordinary expenses are occasioned by
the allowance of double rations, in consideration
of their hard work. The allowance to a convict
is as follows ; — Eighty pounds of rye flour for each
man per month, one hundred and twenty pounds
of the same flour for each man who has a wife,
and forty pounds in addition for each child, male
or female. Each man is also allowed ten pounds
of oatmeal, or rice, and twenty pounds of butter
per month. They are also allowed two complete
suits of clothing, and about twenty shillings per
annum in money. Such an allowance of provi-

310 OKOTSK.

sion8 is commendable and liberal ; indeed it is so
great, that tbe poor wretches are enabled to sell
one-half of the bread for the purchase of tea, sugar,
and meat ; and of the latter there is not so much
necessity, when the superabundant quantity of fish
is taken into consideration, which is so great that
I believe from twelve to fifteen hundred dogs are
fed with it during the greater part of the year.

The quantity of salt made by the convicts is
about two thousand five hundred poods, or one
thousand six hundred bushels, which is sold alike
to rich and poor, at the rate of three shillings a-
bushel, equal to two hundred and fifty pounds for
sixteen hundred bushels ; so that the salt, although
a necessary, is a losing establishment of seventy-
five per cent. The liberality and consideration of
the Emperor upon this head cannot, therefore, but
be duly appreciated.

There are also at Okotsk fifty Cossacks, whose
allowance of flour is thirty poods, or one thousand
two hundred pounds weight, per annum, and oat-
meal and butter in proportion. The children have
half that allowance, and widows and orphans are
considered as entitled to the same, thus bringing
the establishment of Okotsk to about two hundred
and fifty thousand roubles, or ten thousand pounds,
per annum. To meet this, the yasack, or tribute,
paid by Yakuti and Tongousi is two thousand
eight hundred and twenty-eight roubles, or less
than one hundred and twenty pounds, and the
duties upon imported goods amounted, in three
years, to less than seven hundred pounds. These
are the only sources of revenue to Okotsk, if I
except that arising from the American Company,
who are supposed to pay a tenth of their imports
to the crown at St Petersburg, as also a tenth of

OKOTSK. 311

the furs imported from Kamtchatka ; neither of
which payments take place, I believe, in so cor-
rect a manner as they should.

Of the expenses of building and fitting out a
transport brig of one hundred and sixty to one hun-
dred and eighty tons, I have the account, which
states it at less than two thousand pounds ; the
building was one-half the amount of the stores,
and their transport from Irkutsk the other half.
Upon the whole, however, the vessels are eminent-
ly strong, and worth the money. The art of ship-
building has considerably improved, if I may judge
from the different samples lying in Okotsk ; three
trigs have been built within the last three years,
which ought to last at least twenty.

Such are the official returns of Okotsk. Of the
state of society little can be said, no merchants re-
siding in it, and the chief being the only married
man belonging to the navy, and but three or four,
who have wives, that belong to the civil service;
in short, there is very little society, and less edu-
cation, although a school has been established by
the present chief, which may hereafter do well if
the existing discipline be kept up. There are se-
venty-six boys in it, who cost nothing either to
the empire or their families, being supported on
the, so called, economy money, i. e. the money sa-
ved from the sums allowed by government for the
maintenance of the equipage, which savings the
present governor, much to his honour and credit,
employs for the education and other benefit of the
children.

Much credit is also due to the exertions of Cap-
tain Ushinsky, in having redressed many of the
grievances under which the aborigines laboured,
as well as the abuses in the public departments.

312 OKOTSK.

Formerly when an officer wanted money, he had
only to go to the dock-yard and take such things
from it as he could sell to raise it ; and so recently
has this abuse been exercised, that an officer, high
in rank, did, even in the last year, take articles to
a considerable amount from one of the storehouses ;
not in a shy or shamefaced manner, but openly, as
an act justified by habit and long usage, and not at
all questionable. I can see no reason why such con-
duct should be practised here, as all officers receive
double pay and extra provisions, besides being al-
ways considered as regular traders ; indeed it has,
since my return from Siberia, been sanctioned by
authority, that officers in certain departments or
situations may trade. The consequences will be
most fatal to the poor aborigines, and most de-
structive to the interest of the fair trader, who is
taxed to an amount of at least ten per cent per
annum, upon the capital he professes to trade with.

The abuses under which this persecuted race of
aborigines have existed, I shall forbear to mention.
I will, however, give two samples of the manner
in which an avaricious chief may make his fortune.

A Yakut applied to the orderly Cossack of the
present chief, who spoke the language of the Ya-
kuti, stating that he wished to speak to the chief
in private. The poor fellow was admitted, when
he beckoned the interpreter to withdraw. This,
however, was impossible, as the man, who kept his
hand in his breast, could not speak a word of Rus-
sian. The chief demanded what he wanted ; still
he declined answering in the presence of the Cos-
sack. At last, after many entreaties, he pulled
out a paper from his bosom, and gave it to the
chief, at the same time kissing his knee ; and ob-
serving that he was a poor man, and had never been

OKOTSK. 313

to Okotsk before. The paper was opened, and
found to contain a hundred roubles, nearly five
pounds. The chief demanded the purpose of the
money ; and by reasoning with and threatening the
poor fellow, he at last got out the truth, which
was, — that an old custom prevailed among the Ya-
kuti, in order to enable the chief of Okotsk to live
well and support his station, that every Yakut
should pay, upon his first entry into Okotsk, a sort
of poll-tax to the chief ; and that he, the Yakut, in
common with the rest, had now only to continue
the custom, and to express his regret that he was
so poor a man as not to be able to do more. I need
not say the money was returned, the man made to
understand that such practices were abolished, and
a message sent to the princes of the Yakuti, to say,
that should such conduct be again attempted with
the present chief, a severe punishment would be
inflicted upon the party offending. When the num-
ber of Yakuti who annually go to Okotsk are con-
sidered as not falling short of three or four thou-
sand, it may be very readily guessed what the ave-
rage receipts of a chief were, and might still be,
upon the score of privilege and extortion. The
charm of bribery and corruption is, however, now
so decidedly broken at Okotsk, that I feel certain
no place in Siberia will thrive more, although its
chief will always be unpopular.

I will mention one instance more of the preva-
lence of corruption in this part of the world, and
to the truth of which I can myself testify. A de-
cent dressed woman called upon the present chief
of Okotsk, with a petition that her husband should
have his fetters taken off, and be allowed a total
respite from the public services, in consequence of
his age and infirmities. Upon inquiry, her hus-

vol. i. 2d

314 OKOTSK.

band proved to be a convict, and, still more, one
of the very worst. The woman was desired to call
again, and was then told that the chief was sorry
that the conduct of her husband was such, as pre-
vented the chiefs considering it necessary that he
should be excused from the public works ; and that
his health, his age, and circumstances were such,
that no extra consideration of his case was neces-
sary, and therefore he must continue to work in his
fetters. The woman then put a letter into the hand
of the chief, which, on opening, was found to con-
tain bank notes to the amount of three hundred
roubles, a sum equal to fifteen pounds. This was
her last resort ; the money was returned, the for-
mer opinion was confirmed, and the chief, for ha-
ving done his duty, and for having honourably re-
fused the bribe, was denounced as the most arbi-
trary and tyrannical, insomuch that a parallel was
drawn between his conduct and that of his prede-
cessors, by whom it seems such things were prac-
tised.

These are in no way extraordinary cases, nor are
they by any means the most grievous. Those
arising from the oppressive acts of the commissa-
ries, or tax-gatherers, are the worst. I feel confi-
dent that no real redress can be granted until the
yasack is done away with entirely ; and this step,
I hope and believe, will, ere long, be taken. The
sacrifice would be small ; it might even be done
with great advantage to the empire, and to the in-
crease of the population as well as of the revenue ;
but I have done, and am really tired of being un-
der the necessity of telling such true tales.

During the latter part of my stay at Okotsk,
two vessels arrived there from America, one of
which was very valuable, worth about seventy

OKOTSK. 315

thousand pounds, the other about thirty thousand.
They were brigs, and loaded with sea- otters, bea-
vers, sea-cats, martins, river-otters, and various
other less valuable skins. The vessels appeared
well manned, and tolerably managed, which is more
than I can believe is the case with the government
transports ; but as I am going in one, and shall have
a fair opportunity of judging, I will, for the pre-
sent, abstain from further remark. I remained in
Okotsk a considerable time, and felt highly grati-
fied with the attentions shown to me by the chief,
his amiable lady, and the officers. Every thing
that could tend to my comfort was done for me. I
did not, however, receive from the American Com-
pany's representatives those attentions to which my
situation might seem to entitle me, in consequence,
I believe, of what had taken place at St Petersburg.
One circumstance in particular occurred to me,
which was calculated to lower them and the con-
cern in my estimation. One of their brigs was to
be examined, — visited for the purpose of ascertain-
ing if the provisions were good, if the people were
satisfied, and if the furniture of the vessel, in spare
sails, &c. was as is directed by law. The chief
and officers were invited. This was at a feast given
by the chief, at which I was present, and where he
was requested to bring me with him ; I even heard
the invitation, but I naturally considered that, if
they really wished me to partake of the dejeune
to be given on board, they could as well have in-
vited me upon the spot, as desire a second person
to bring me. The day the survey was to take
place, all the individuals expected repaired to the
scene of action except myself ; a boat was dispatch-
ed after me, but I declined the invitation in toto>
conscious as I was that something existed which,

316 OKOTSK.

probably in obedience to directions, I ought not to
see, and knowing1, as they must, that I would ex-
pose, if I discovered it. I neither have nor had
any hostility towards the American Company ; on
the contrary, I say, that I think their establishment
in Okotsk is upon the most liberal scale, probably
too liberal, and that there are fewer faults in the
concern in Okotsk, than in any other of theirs that
I have seen.

The prices of provisions and labour will conclude
these remarks upon Okotsk. Bread is twelve rou-
bles a-pood, and meat from four to five roubles the
same quantity ; that is, bread is sold by government
at nine shillings for thirty-six pounds, while meat
is four shillings and sixpence for the same quantity.
Fish, from its abundance, is not vended. Tobacco,
cottons, and earthenware, cutlery, and such articles
as a poor people can want, are not exorbitant ;
while a common working man can earn four, five,
and six shillings a-day, which are, however, sure
to be spent at the kabak, or grog-shop. Wine of
an infamous quality, the worst of spirits, and a sort
of provincial naleefka, and fructovka (a spirit of the
flavour of cherry-brandy) are most exorbitantly
dear. Those who have industry, strength, or ta-
lent, cannot fail of making their situation comfort-
able in Okotsk, if they be so disposed. The place
is generally considered healthy, yet for invalids
there is a good hospital, with plenty of attendants.
The gardens produce some vegetables, but com-
monly of an inferior growth ; mushrooms are most
abundant, and very fine. In other respects the go-
vernment of Okotsk can only be termed an im-
mense dreary waste, extending from the river Uda
to Idgiga and Anadyr, and the whole population
is less than four thousand souls. In spite of the

OKOTSK. 317

attentions and hospitality heaped upon me by the
inhabitants of Okotsk, I could not regret my de-
parture. It has such a sameness — so little to be
seen — so little to interest — and what was worse
than all, so much scandal circulating there, that
every thing done in Irkutsk and St Petersburg was
sure to be known in a very short time.

It was on the twenty-fourth of August that I
embarked on board the imperial transport brig,
Michael, to proceed to Kamtchatka. She was
commanded by a lieutenant of the navy, and had
on board thirty-two people, besides passengers. I
mention the number, because it is considered in
this part of the world that such a number falls far
short of what is necessary to work a vessel in a
case of emergency.

Our destination was St Peter and St Paul's in
Kamtchatka : we cast off our lashings about noon,
and were soon in the centre of the tremendous
tides-way, which makes in and out of Okotsk every
six hours. In attempting to cross the bar, she
struck, and, as the vessel was rather late, the ebb-
tide having made, of course she continued to strike,
and in fact beat so hard, that it was necessary to
get down the lower yards and topmasts, and even
to prepare to discharge the cargo. Every exertion,
but in vain, was made in the two following tides
to get her off from the bank which received Cap-
tain Billings' vessel, the Good Intent — she was left
so truly dry at low water, that I walked on shore
to communicate with the chief.

On the afternoon of the twenty-sixth, by main
force, we hove the brig into deep water upon the
rising of the tide ; and as no damage had been ap-
parently done to the vessel, of course resumed the
vovage. We mav be considered as fortunate ; the
2d 2

318 OKOTSK.

surf is at times so terrific as to prevent the possi-
bility not only of a boat, but of any vessel, outri-
ding it many minutes. The shallowness of the wa-
ter, a long way oft* from the entrance of the har-
bour, the rapidity of the tides, and the cross- setting
of them at the harbour's mouth, preclude the pos-
sibility of Okotsk becoming an easily accessible
port, except for a small merchant vessel. Neces-
sity alone, resulting from the loss of the Amour,
can induce the Russian government to keep it, at
such an expense, and under such circumstances.
If the Amour had not been sacrificed through the
bad generalship of the count, whose name I do not
recollect, or the superior duplicity of the Chinese,
all the productions of the Pacific might have enter-
ed and ascended that river, nearly to the fortress
of Kiakhta ; but in the present state of the limita-
tion of the Chinese and Russian empires, the pro-
duce of the Pacific is necessarily sent to Okotsk,
as there is no other eligible place.

The produce arriving at Okotsk has to choose
betwixt the dangers of a bad roadstead, and of a
very difficult port. From Okotsk to Irkutsk and
Kiakhta, are near three thousand miles of the most
difficult and dangerous land-carriage in the world ;
a journey which cannot be accomplished during the
season in which the vessels generally arrive at
Okotsk ; consequently one year's interest of the
money is sunk, besides the exposure of the goods to
the ignorance and negligence of warehouse-keepers,
and the dampness of the atmosphere.

The only period in which the port of Okotsk can
be approached or departed from, is between the
months of July and October, or only four months.
The general period for vessels arriving is the latter
part of July or beginning of August ; too late in

OKOTSK. 319

the season to admit of their cargoes being forward-
ed to Yakutsk in time to take the winter road, and
reach the fair of Kiakhta during the same season,
as the fair commences in February, Were the
American Company to dispatch their vessels from
the continent of America in the month of May,
they would always arrive at Okotsk before the 1st
July ; their cargoes might be transported to Ya-
kutsk by the end of August, at a cheap rate, by
means of the return horses, and then to Irkutsk by
water, previous to the winter setting in, and so be
ready for disposal at Kiakhta in January. The
furs would arrive in a better state, and of course
fetch a better price. What incalculable advan-
tages would result to the American Company and
to merchants in general, to say nothing of its con-
venience to the government, from the employ of
steam-engines upon the rivers Lena, Angara, Se-
lenga, and Baikhal lake ! What country in the
world has such advantages for the employment of
steam as Siberia ; and what a relief would it not
give to the aborigines, in saving them at ]eastjifti/
thousand horses every year, which are now, through
fatigue, cold, hunger, and being overladen, left to
perish !

The value of the Amour is, however, so gene-
rally known, and its loss so sensibly felt, that it
were needless to point out the benefits which would
arise from the purchase of it ; all that surprises me
is, that the Russians have not attempted to open
a treaty even for the privilege of navigating the
river ; then the direct trade between Irkutsk and
Kamtchatka, Japan, and the Pacific in general,
would be astonishing, while now it is at best con-
temptible.

To return to the voyage, which occupied us four-

320 ST PETER AND ST PAUL'S.

teen days, with mild and favourable weather, and
but little fog ; on the seventh day we passed the
Kurile Islands in safety, and on the tenth made
the Avatcha Peak. Strong north winds, and a still
stronger and perpetual south-east current, together
with the want of practical knowledge in the com-
manders of the vessels in this part of the world,
retarded our progress, so that we did not anchor
until the fifteenth day, when I was received under
the roof of the amiable and hospitable chief, Cap-
tain Rikord — the gentleman, as will be remem-
bered, who rescued Captain Golovnin from the
hands of the Japanese. I arrived in time to par-
take of the feast given in honour of the saint after
whom the lady of the chief is named. It was at-
tended by all the youth, beauty, and fashion of the
town of St Peter and St Paul's.

During our passage across the sea, little of in-
terest was excited. I had occasion, during calm
weather, to witness the struggles of the whale, and
listen to its groans, when attacked by the kasatki,
a species of sword-fish. We had frequent oppor-
tunities of ascertaining the state of the currents,
which were invariably found setting to the S.E. at
the rate of two and three miles per hour. In one
of these excursions, and when I was in a small
punt-boat, with a deep sea-lead down for an an-
chor, the laziness of the crew got the better of their
prudence, and nearly prevented my now relating
the tale. Although in a small punt, the crew per-
sisted in pulling towards the brig, with the deep-
sea-lead down ; the consequences were, as might
be expected, the moment we ceased rowing, to
enable us to take hold of a rope thrown to us, that
moment, of course, the punt got stern way, and con-
tinued it until the lead was brought up and down ;

ST PETER AND ST PAUL*S. 321

but although the boat was nearly swamped by this
unsailorlike conduct, yet, in spite of remonstrance,
was it again fruitlessly attempted. Whether this
conduct proceeded from obstinacy, ignorance, or
fearlessness, I leave the reader to judge. At length
the crew took my advice, and we gained the brig.
I had also an opportunity of establishing the lati-
tude of Povorotnoi Noss, and which is correctly
laid down in the old chart of Admiral Saretcheft",
while the more modern one of Admiral Kruzen-
stern is incorrect by nineteen miles. The longi-
tudes of Nishney Kolymsk, of Okotsk, and of the
island of Eon, have, however, 3° of error in the for-
mer admiral's chart ; this may probably have pro-
ceeded from inadvertency, and not from error of
calculation, as Captain Billings used English books
to calculate by, while Admiral Saretcheff must
have used French ; — the former only understood
his own English, and of course used the meridian
of London ; the latter, most likely, used the meri-
dian of Paris, as he did not understand English. I
mention the circumstance of exculpation, because
the errors are known to exist. Three degrees must
be added to the longitude of the place according
to the charts extant ; in short, it ought to be about
146° east of London. In passing the Kurile islands,
the general line of them appeared to be well laid
down, with the exception of the second and fourth
islands, which, with Cape Lopatka, should be placed
farther to the east, to bring them upon a north-
east line with the islands to the southward of
them ; or the southern islands should be placed
more to the westward, to bring them upon a south-
west line from Cape Lopatka, for that is their ex-
act direction, although the charts lay them down
otherwise. I had no other means than half-a-dozen

322 ST PETER AND ST PAUL'S.

compasse8 of ascertaining where the fault lies. The
islands and peninsula are elevated, bold, and very
accessible ; passages may be run for during the
night in spite of the fogs, and there is no danger
anywhere but in the Lopatka channel, where a
strong south-east current always sets. The ave-
rage temperature of the atmosphere was 15° of
heat.

In the harbour of St Peter and St Paul's, I
found the Russian expedition under the orders of
Captain Vassilieff, who had returned from a fruit-
less attempt to get round the American continent.
They rounded Icy Cape about thirty miles beyond
Captain Cook, although they fell short of him on
the Asiatic side by two degrees. Little increase
of knowledge will be gained to the world by this
expedition ; the most valuable is the having ascer-
tained that a strong current runs round Icy Cape
to the north-east and east, — so strong that it was
with great difficulty Captain Vassilieff could get
back his fast-sailing sloop. She certainly was not
provided with the means, nor was she a fit vessel,
for wintering on the American coast, separated
from her consort, a large transport of six hundred
tons. What would Captain Parry have given for
such a fair current ? Had the state of Captain
Vassilieff's ship permitted his running for the ac-
complishment of the voyage in general, he certain-
ly had the fairest opportunity that ever man had,
for the result of Captain Parry's first voyage was
known at Kamtchatka, as a correct chart of that
voyage, and the situation of Melville Island, had
been forwarded, and had actually reached there a
few days after Captain Vassilieff arrived. Little or
no doubt can exist that he could have reached
Melville Island ; — that there was an open sea to

ST PETER AND ST PAUL'S. 323

the east, and a current of three knots per hour, I
have reason to know. Unfortunately, however,
the expedition was not in a fit state to make the
attempt again ; but what may be done by Captain
Kotzebue, time alone will show ; though I believe
his instructions are so limited, that he is not to at-
tempt the passage, but to survey the sound named
after him, and protect the Russian commerce in
that part of the world. I am, however, free to
think that the passage by Behring's Straits is the
best. Should Captain Kotzebue be determined to
attempt the passage round Icy Cape, he will, no
doubt, find a place for wintering ; or he may win-
ter in the sound called after, and re-discovered by
him, for it has been known to the Russians more
than one hundred years. The winter may be em-
ployed to great advantage, as there are natives in
the vicinity, with dogs and rein- deer ; and I should
think that, with proper caution and people qualified
for the task, the coast as far as M'Kenzie's river
might be surveyed in one winter. Dogs to assist
could also be procured at Kamtchatka.

I found also in St Peter and St Paul's, a brig
under Portuguese colours, as well as one from the
Sandwich Islands. The former brought a cargo
of flour from Macao, the other a cargo of salt as
a present to the Emperor from the sable Majesty
of those islands, and in return received as a pre-
sent such things as seemed most desirable ; among
others, some animals, with a view of propagating
the breed ; though it may be doubted whether the
propagation of bears, which they also received,
will be beneficial or acceptable. The Sandwich
brig was a fine American vessel, officered by three
Englishmen, and entirely manned by natives. The
conduct of the executive here towards the Sand-

324 ST PETER AND ST PAUL'S.

wichers was flattering ; and it is not a little singu-
lar that the first voyage undertaken hy them should
be to Kamtchatka, almost the least known part of
the world. What with the expedition, transports,
and foreigners, this place had, at one time, as many
as eight vessels in it ; — the largest number it ever
counted before.

It may readily be believed that I felt great plea-
sure in meeting with three Englishmen, independ-
ent of three on board of the Sandwich vessel, in
such a distant part of the world. One was the
Russian consul-general to the Pacific Ocean, Peter
Dobell, Esq., formerly a merchant of Canton, re-
siding in Manilla, whither he had returned after
escaping the dreadful massacre in that place. I
found him, during the long stay I had in Kamt-
chatka, a polite, hospitable, and finished gentle-
man, a sincere friend, and, in short, a real Irish-
man. He had some few years ago been so for-
tunate as to contribute to the safety of a Rus-
sian frigate, under the command of Captain Kru-
zenstern, which ship was upon the point of being
seized by the Chinese authorities at Canton. Se-
cret intelligence communicated to Mr Dobell, was
as readily given to the captain, and reported to
the Court of St Petersburg, when the Emperor
Alexander, ever alive to reward the meritorious,
presented him with a valuable brilliant ring, and
gave him his present situation ; which last was the
more acceptable, as he was compelled to quit Can-
ton, and forfeit his business. A second was a
plain, good, honest Bostonian, encumbered with
six children and a wife, else a man who ought to
return to his native land, where his circumstances
are good ; I experienced much civility and kind-
ness from him. The last was a cockney, who had

ST PETER AND ST PAUL'S. 325

been exiled from Moscow for forgery ; and, al-
though he had been flogged, knouted, &c. was still
well received in every house. I know not how
such things are managed in this country, but no
doubt can exist that in Siberia, and probably in
Botany Bay, the convicts are well received, that
is, if their situation in life was formerly respectable.
For my own part, I could only pity him, and re-
joice that the punishment inflicted was so merci-
ful ; had be been a Russian, the case would have
been different.

Time rolled away in the agreeable society of
the chief and his amiable lady, together with the
very fine young men who composed the officers
belonging to the expedition and to the port. I
felt anxious to get away from the perpetual course
of balls, routs, dinners, and masquerades, which
were alternately given by the chiefs of Kamt-
chatka and the expedition, as well as by the offi-
cers of them. Nor did the representative of his
sable majesty of the Sandwich Islands fail to ho-
nour all individuals of rank and fashion with a
splendid dejeuTie. The last fete given was by the
author of this narrative, when the British flag, for
the first time, waved over the land of Kamtchatka.
However much the chief felt inclined to grant me
the means of departing, it was impossible until the
expedition had quitted the bay; only one post could
be sent, and that I desired to accompany. Two
months passed in this manner before the expedi-
tion departed, when I was left to the free enjoy-
ment of a passion which was crowned with the
reward of marriage ; — so much then for my tra-
vellership. However, I had no alternative, and
the day that Captain Vassilieff left the harbour of
St Peter and St Paul's, I put the question. My

vol. i. 2 E

326 ST PETER AND ST TAUl/s.

airy phantoms, my bold desires, and my eccentrit
turn, being thus dissipated by one woman, I pre
pared to make a tour of the peninsula before 1 lei
my intended bride to the altar.

END OF VOLUME FIRST.

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